Pizza, Beer, and Netflix
by jace24
Summary: Paily one shot. Give it a shot, you might like it!
1. Chapter 1

**_Hi. So this is my very first PLL story. I've written other stories in the past but it's been a long time since I have. I completely adore Emily and Paige, but considering that half of the Paily ship has been shipped away, I've had some feelings lately so I wrote this. I haven't kept up with the show since Paige's rude dismiss last season so I don't much of what's going on, nor do I care to know, but I am still hoping to hear that Paige has come back. So basically with this story everything that happened with Paily in the show before 5x12 still happened, and everything after 5x12 means nothing because it was garbage. If you guys love it, tell me and maybe I can write some more. If you hate, you can say that too._**

 ** _Thanks!_**

 ** _Pizza, Beer, and Netflix_**

Hoisting the boxes further up into her arms, Emily grunted slightly, trying to keep her grip on the larger sized brown box that she was currently holding onto for dear life, as well as two tote bags on her left arm, as she waited for the elevator to reach her floor. After three weeks, make that three _very long_ weeks, she finally held in her hands the final boxe from the storage unit. Everything from the old apartment had been unpacked and put into place in the new apartment, except for a few small things, but there had been so much left in storage and now Emily was remembering why. But it was all here now and just about complete.

She absolutely adored the new place. Even as the elevator finally dinged and she stepped off, walking the short distance to the door with 203 painted out in white on a piece of fancy plastic, Emily thought to herself how cute it was while setting the box down to retrieve her key from her pocket. It wasn't huge, but it wasn't entirely small either. It was in the right price range and very close to work, which were the two most important things when the search for a new place had first began. Next had come more typical details such as bedroom amounts, kitchen size, and just how much space would actually be needed for all of the possessions that had been gathered in the past three years.

This place was perfect from the beginning. Beautiful hardwood floors ran throughout the opening hall and into the kitchen, dining and living room. None of them excessively huge, especially the dining room, but big enough for what was needed in terms of furniture and just plain personal space. The living room wasn't big enough for too much furniture other than the coffee table, a white three seater couch and a black recliner they had, but it still worked out fine. The extra large salmon colored rug that she had found on the clearance rack and rolled out for the coffee table to sit on was a nice finishing touch to the room. Plus the photos, lamps, mirrors and other knick knacks added to it made it even better. The kitchen was stunning in Emily's opinion. It came with a built in fridge, stove and microwave which were all stainless steel and were surrounded by a nice set of bamboo colored cabinets. A nice black and grey mixed granite top went all the way around the small, but perfectly accessible and usable countertops. Emily knew her mother would have needed far more space but for her it was perfect. She was still working on her cooking skills anyway so it wasn't as if she felt like she was missing anything.

The apartment had two bedrooms, both with a nice grey looking carpet running throughout. The master had a large window on the far side wall that looked out in the garden in the middle of the complex, which Emily also loved as soon as she saw it. Even with the large queen sized bed in the middle of the room and side table on each side of the bed, there was plenty of room to walk and get where you needed in the room. The closet wasn't entirely big enough for all the clothes but the storage units that were designed into the bed frame took care of that. The bathroom was bigger than Emily first would have guessed though. The shower had left her stunned for a moment with the large see through glass doors enclosing it. That was something she had never even imagined she would have wanted, but quickly realized it had it's perks.

By far though her most favorite part of the new place was the patio that was accessed through the living room. It was small, not much larger than would be imagined, but the view was great. You could see the beach in the distance and all of the cute shops and people coming and going all over the place. Already finding herself out there both morning she had woken up there, she found it wasn't quite as noisy as she had expected, but instead it was oddly very serene and calm out there.

In short; she was completely in love with her new home. It was everything she could have asked for and everything she never thought she was going to have the chance to have. It was like a dream.

Setting the box onto the tiled floor in front of the apartment door, Emily dug her hand into her purse to search for her key. Finally finding it, she slipped the key into the lock and turned it, stopping short of opening the door when she heard somebody call out to her.

"Yo, sexy thing."

Emily turned her head at the familiar voice, a small laugh escaping her lips when she saw the face she was expecting coming off the elevator.

"Reese. What are you doing here?" Emily asked, surprised to see her friend there.

"Well since nobody has bothered to invite me over I just decided to invite myself." The redhead spoke with a slight attitude that Emily was all too familiar with, not even bothering to stop herself from rolling her eyes.

"You were here the first day we moved in, Reese, and the couple days after. Plus you were here like three nights ago."

"My point exactly. Just because you guys decided you didn't want to be neighbors anymore it's like I never see you. I'm starting to feel offended."

Reese stood at about 5'4, so just slightly shorter than Emily, her hair a dark, curly shade of red with fresh black streaks throughout it that sat just above her shoulders. She practically always had a pair of heels on, no matter what the weather was like, and she almost always dressed like she was going somewhere exciting like a club or party. Today her outfit consisted of a pair of black shorts, black heels and a white tank top covered by a dark blue leather jacket. Emily felt plain and boring in her jeans, tank top, and converse but it quickly faded.

"You are so ridiculous." Emily laughed, shaking her head at the redhead. "Will you grab that box, please?"

"And now I'm the help. Great."

"Shut up and get the box."

"Fine." With a huff, Reese moved her purse further up her arm and grabbed the box that Emily had left behind, following her friend into the apartment. "Where do you want it?"

"Just set it over here. Thank you." Emily pointed to a spot on the kitchen counter, removing the two tote bags and her purse from around her arms and sighed in slight relief.

"What's in this?"

"Just some old knick knacks and photo albums, I think. It's the last one though. After this, everything is officially unpacked." Emily sighed, feeling a weight off her shoulders knowing she wouldn't have to unpack anymore boxes and stress over finding places for stuff she didn't even remember owning.

"Well for the record, it looks amazing in here." Admitting with a wide smile, Reese took a glance around the kitchen, living room and dining room and was very impressed with the way it was all set up.

"Think so?" Emily asked as she looked around slightly self conscious. She was worried some of the decorations and knick knacks might clash, but Reese had a good eye when it came to that sort of stuff.

"Yeah, very nice. Although I hate you for not including me in any of it."

"You so were included! You helped me pick half of this stuff out. I just chose the spots they went in. Stop being so dramatic for a second, would ya?"

Opening up the tote bags, Emily set out the few items she had picked up at the store on her way back from the storage unit. She didn't get much and honestly she didn't even feel like cooking at this point, but at least there was some fresh stuff in the fridge now.

"Alright, alright. I forgive you." Reese said, crossing her arms over her chest as she took a moment to look around again.

"Where's your other half? She shouldn't she be helping you with this?"

"She's at work." Emily answered, pulling her phone out from her pocket to see what time it was. She hadn't realized how long her errands had taken until now and she hadn't checked to see if she had any missed texts, but there were none.

"And she's been helping but her schedule has been hectic lately and she's not exactly the best one to give opinions on this kind of stuff."

"Just a lot of ' _Whatever you think is best'_ , huh?" Reese chuckled, already being able to hear the words in her head.

"Mostly, but I don't mind it. As much as I find it annoying, I also love the whole finding spots for stuff and arranging the furniture and all of it. But I'm also really glad it's over."

"It is fun pain in the ass." Reese agreed, letting out a soft sigh as she leaned back against the counter.

"So was there a real reason you stopped by or did you just come over to bitch and moan about being imaginary neglected?" Emily asked with a sarcastic tone that earned her a middle finger being thrown her way.

"No, I was just bored. I was supposed to go to lunch with this guy that I met the other night but he called and cancelled on me..." Reese trailed off, shrugging her shoulders while trying to ignore the sympathetic look Emily was giving her.

"Sorry, Reese."

"Hey, it is what it is."

Emily felt terrible for her friend. She knew that Reese was...a bit of a handful, but she had a heart of gold and she deserved somebody completely amazing, but that person just hadn't come along yet.

"Beer?" Emily offered, knowing that would be the best form of comfort right now.

"Yes, please."

Turning towards the fridge once again, Emily pulled out two bottles and popped the cap on each before handing one to the woman across from her.

"Thank you." Reese sighed as she took a generous sip from the bottle, following Emily into the living room when the brunette motioned for her to go with her.

"So what do you think?" Emily asked, moving her hand in the general direction of the living room. She had spent several days trying to find the perfect spots for everything and she finally felt satisfied with it all, but she figured another opinion wouldn't hurt.

"Love it." Reese answered sincerely as she looked around at the arranged furniture, lamps and coffee table. Emily had found the perfect way to make the room seem much bigger than it actually was, along with the additions of the now filled up photo frames and shelves hanging along the walls . Stepping closer to the photo frames she smiled widely at one of the shots hanging up. "Hey, I took this!"

Emily stepped closer to see which picture Reese was pointing to, instantly remembering the moment it had been taken, and she smiled staring intently at the photograph.

"Paige looks hot." Reese commented offhandedly. "You both do, of course, but Paige looks damn hot in that shirt."

"Yes, she does." Emily commented, smiling as she stared at the picture of her and Paige taken a few months back. It was the night of Paige's college graduation and her family, along with Emily's, had flown into town to celebrate the event. The picture itself was taken after the ceremony at a bar by Reese, whom they had met when they moved into their very first apartment together three years prior. Reese had lived right next door to them and had been a close friend to the couple ever since. Paige was smiling in that way that Emily still found to be both charming and goofy in the same instance, her arm wrapped softly and protectively around Emily's shoulder. Emily however, had been captured to be looking at Paige instead of the camera, her hand pressed against Paige's chest as she smiled widely.

"You guys are so cute." Reese smiled, bumping her shoulder into Emily's slightly as she turned away from the frame.

"Hey, where's Finn?" Reese asked suddenly, realizing for the first time since she entered the apartment that there was something missing, or rather _someone_.

"He's with Paige."

"At the gym?" Reese frowned in confusion, surprised to hear that Paige would have taken Finn with her there.

"Well he's not with her exactly. There's a little daycare right next to the gym and she's been taking him there a few times a week." Emily answered, immediately startled by the sudden gasp that her friend let out. "What?"

"Daycare?!" Reese asked, a completely judgmental and disapproving look on her face.

"What?" Emily asked again, not understanding what she had said that had upset her friend so much.

"You put him in puppy prison!" She accused, not even trying to make a question out of it.

"It is not puppy prison!" Emily laughed, shaking her head at the accusation. "He plays with other dogs all day long and they help train him."

Finn was a four month old Siberian Husky Boxer mixed puppy that Emily and Paige had found at a local shelter when he was just a few weeks old. He was absolutely gorgeous and the couple, and Reese as well, had instantly fallen in love with the golden and white furred, blue eyed puppy.

"Are you sure about that? Cause I've read things about those kinds of places and some of them aren't so sweet!"

"Reese, it's fine. Paige and I looked into the place very thoroughly before we enrolled Finn. It's a nice place and he's getting to interact with other dogs and people. He can't just be locked inside the apartment all day, especially when we both work, so we've been taking him there a few times a week. It's good for him to be around other people and animals so he's not afraid."

"Fine. But I don't like it. He should be here and not caged up."

"He's not caged up! He plays all day long with toys and all sorts of stuff. They have a jungle gym set up for the dogs to play on with slides and everything!"

Paige and Emily both had been shocked to see the set up of that doggy daycare when they had walked in. Finn had immediately taken off to play with the other puppies and toys, making the couple feel much better about leaving him there for a few hours. It wasn't like they didn't want to take care of Finn, because they did and they loved him dearly already, which is why they didn't feel comfortable leaving him in the apartment by himself on the days they both worked. So doggy daycare seemed like the best choice.

"Paige checks in on him all the time too. The shop is directly across the street from the gym, so if something was to happen, which it won't, she's ten seconds away."

"Whatever." Was all Reese could come back with as she started walking towards the couch.

"Okay, so is there any part of this room where I can sit that you two haven't yet christened?"

"Reese!"

"What?!" The redhead asked, looking at Emily with a smile as she took a drink from her beer, pointing a finger at the brunette as she walked closer to the couch.

"I lived a wall away from you guys for three years, Em. Don't even pretend like I'm out of line by asking."

Sometimes Reese reminded Emily so much of Hanna it scared her. Of course there were major differences between the two, but the lack of filter was a complete match.

"Whatever." Emily grumbled, not wanting to get into the discussion but knew it was likely going to happen anyway.

"I still have nightmares about the things that I heard coming from you two, and after that last time I can still just barely look Paige in the eye." Reese continued on as she finally took a seat on the middle cushion of the couch after lifting the sides of the cushions up for whatever reason.

"That was your own fault! You just let yourself into the apartment!" Emily argued, already knowing exactly where this conversation was headed.

"I just wanted to borrow your curling iron! When I walked in I heard screaming and I thought I was saving your life, not scarring my own."

Emily blushed slightly, still remembering very clearly the compromising position she and Paige had been in when Reese had walked into their bedroom that day. Emily could understand why Reese may have a hard time forgetting it.

"Okay? I was expecting to walk in and see somebody killing you, not Paige's head between your legs."

"Oh god."

Covering her face with one hand, Emily shook her head as she tried to erase the image of Reese flinging their bedroom door open, her mouth open in complete shock before her eyes fell closed and she ran away as quickly as she had come, yelling out apologies to the couple as she slammed the door closed. She never let herself back into the apartment again.

"Yeah, so don't even try and tell me you guys haven't been going at it day and night. I should warn your new neighbors about you two."

"Don't you dare! We haven't even met any of them yet."

"Oh, even better to tell them. That way you can't try and replace me." Reese winked, laughing at the expression on Emily's face.

"You're just jealous because you're _not_ getting any." Emily stuck her tongue out slightly at her friend as she took a drink from her beer, moving to sit down on the sofa next to the redhead.

"Rude!" Reese scoffed, thumping Emily with the throw pillow next to her before letting her head fall against the back of the couch. "I mean it's disgustingly true, but still rude of you to say it like that."

"I was just joking."

"But it's so true though. God, I think I've actually lost track of how long it's been, Em. I don't understand what's so wrong with me that I can't get a date."

"You get so many dates!" Emily objected her friends comment loudly, an incredulous look appearing on her face. "Seriously, I don't understand what you're in such a rut for."

"Well of course you wouldn't cause it's not a problem for you." Reese scoffed slightly, looking over at her friend with a pathetic expression.

"You and Paige met in high school and you're still all goggle eyed over each other! I still don't even understand how you pulled that off."

"It wasn't easy for us, trust me. There was a lot of stuff that nearly broke us up, and did a few times." Emily admitted, not going into full detail about it. She had never really told anybody about what had went on in Rosewood. All that Reese knew was that Emily had a stalker back in high school, but other than that Emily and Paige had kept the details to a minimum.

"Well yeah, but you still got through it."

"Because we wanted to. It would have been so much easier to just give up but we didn't. It was hard though, especially when Paige moved here."

Emily remembered very vividly how that year went. Each passing day after Christmas seemed to fly by so quickly. Before they had even realized it, prom night was there and gone and then graduation was over. Everything piled on by 'A' didn't help either, especially after the Dollhouse. On top of Emily being completely broken herself from what had happened, Paige was a mess of her own. There were times Emily was afraid they wouldn't even make it till graduation after all of that, but they had. With her family, friends, and Paige at her side, Emily was able to put it all behind her. Then it finally ended. 'A' was gone for good and the girls had moved on permanently, although that wasn't entirely as simple either.

Paige was originally planning on staying in Rosewood for the whole summer with Emily, but her parents had insisted she go to California in early July to settle into her dorm and schedule. Saying goodbye to Paige at the airport had been one of the most difficult things Emily had ever done. But it wasn't goodbye forever, and they both knew that. They had cell phones, email and Skype as well, which was something they discussed thoroughly on one of Paige's last nights in town. Paige had assured Emily that just because she was leaving Rosewood, she had no intention of leaving _her_ at all. They would make it work somehow.

And they did. Well, they did their best anyways. Emily went to visit Paige five times during that first year, while Paige had managed to come back to Rosewood only three times. It had been difficult only seeing her here and there in person, so much so that they even decided to take some time to themselves for a bit to figure things out. It hadn't been planned but after Paige had to cancel one of her trips to see Emily due to her being behind in her classes, Emily had lost it. The words had flown out of her mouth before she even realized it.

 _"I think we just need to take a break! I need to think and just...I need time. I just don't know if I can do this anymore."_

 _"...Yeah. Maybe that would be best." Paige's voice had never sounded smaller to Emily and she wished she had never said what she had._

 _"Okay...I guess...I'll call you."_

 _"Yeah, okay."_

The conversation had stunned them both once it was over, but they both thought it might be best that way for the time being, that perhaps the worrying of when they would see each other next was becoming too much. In the end their split lasted just over three weeks before they both decided being together, even if at a distance, was far more satisfying then being completely apart. But deep down Emily knew she wasn't going to be able to handle another three years away from Paige. It wasn't even that she didn't want to, it was that she just _couldn't._

Problem was, she had no idea what to do to change anything. She would never ask Paige to leave Stanford, not when she knew how hard Paige had worked to get there and she had earned her spot. She wouldn't take that away from Paige just because she wasn't happy where she was. Emily herself hadn't received many offers from any actual colleges that peaked her interest, nor was she even sure of what she wanted in terms of a career, so the local community college seemed the best choice for her first year. It was better than wasting her parents money on some school she didn't even want to attend while she tried to figure it all out. A month before Paige's final visit at the start of summer, which thankfully lasted three long weeks, Emily had finally caught a break.

 _'So... I have something to show you.' Emily said suddenly, as she reluctantly pulled her lips off of her girlfriends. She didn't really want to, but she needed to tell Paige her news before they were too far gone to focus._

 _'Oh, yeah? Is it lacy?' Paige asked with a cheeky smile as she pressed a series of kisses to Emily's neck, resting her body further over her girlfriends on the bed. She had been back in Rosewood for just a few hours so far and she was beginning to realize with every passing second just how much she had been missing her girlfriend._

 _"No." Emily laughed momentarily, "Well...yeah, actually. But I'm not talking about that right now." She said as she laughed again and leaned up slightly so she could reach into her nightstand drawer._

 _"What is it then?" Paige asked, half distracted as she let her finger run a circle around Emily's exposed belly button, her lips landing in the same spot seconds later. Turning her eyes up, she saw a folded sheet of white paper in Emily's hand and looked at it expectantly while waiting for Emily to say something._

 _"Em?"_

 _"Okay... well I didn't tell you before, just in case nothing came of it, but I ran into Coach Fulton last month and she was asking me about school and what my plans were for the future."_

 _"Mhm." Paige nodded, her full attention now on Emily as she spoke, her fingers still running along her smooth skin._

 _"And I told her that I didn't really have any clue, like nothing at all, cause I always thought swimming was it, you know? I didn't have a back up plan because I didn't think I'd ever need one."_

 _"I'm sorry, Em." Paige said sincerely, seeing the sadness in her girlfriends eyes. She knew how much Emily missed swimming. Paige wished she could do something, anything to help get Emily back in the water. She'd give her the shoulder off her own arm if she could._

 _"It's not your fault. It's not even mine, it's just how it is. But I'm okay with it. It took a long time for me to be okay, but I really think I am." Emily spoke with a confidence she didn't really know she had. It had been very hard accepting that she wouldn't be able to swim competitively any more, but at least she knew she could still be involved with it in other ways._

 _"Okay, so what did Coach say?"_

 _"Well she told me about how she had heard that I was helping out with training some of the girls on the team, so she asked me if I would be interested in doing something like that full time. I never had even thought of it for some reason. I mean, with 'A' and everything else, my focus was just everywhere it shouldn't have been."_

 _"That's not your fault either, Em. It's been a long year and there's nothing wrong with taking a breath and refocusing now like you are. You needed it."_

 _Emily smiled at the supportive response, happy that Paige didn't feel like she had just been lazy about figuring how what she wanted to do with her life next._

 _"So I was looking at different schools and I applied to a couple of them that had programs similar to the one Coach Fulton was talking about. And...I got an acceptance letter last week."_

 _"Em, this so great!" Paige's face lit up, completely ecstatic as she read over the acceptance letter Emily handed to her._

 _"Foothill College. Why does that sound familiar?" Paige frowned as she stared up at the logo at the bottom of the letter._

 _Emily's smile suddenly widened, so ready to finally tell Paige the news she had been keeping locked inside for the past eight days, wanting to reveal it to her girlfriend in person instead of on the phone._

 _"Well you've probably driven by it a hundred times on your way to campus."_

 _Emily watched Paige's face fall in confusion and then her eyes shot back up into Emily's as it all suddenly hit her._

 _"This school's...you're..." The words were completely lost on the swimmer as she tried to wrap her mind around the news._

 _"It's in California, Paige. In fact not only is it in California but it's a twelve minute drive from Stanford. Twenty-two if I walk."_

 _Paige laughed, her head dipping as she ran her hand through her hair, still completely blown away._

 _"Wow." Paige couldn't really find any other words. She had missed Emily terribly the entire time she had been away. Every day was spent counting down till the next time she would see her. It was hard to focus sometimes even, just wishing that she could find a way to fly back and forth each day and see her._

 _"This is really what you want?" She had to ask, she had to know for certain that Emily wanted to go to this school for more than just her._

 _"For you, I mean? This school is really something you're completely interested in?"_

 _"Yes! I told Coach Fulton I got in and she told me this school has a great Athletic Injury Care program. It's barely two years and I'll have a degree. Plus it's not nearly as expensive as the other schools I looked into."_

 _Emily explained to Paige, just like she explained to her parents when she first got the letter. She wasn't just going to this school for her relationship. Obviously, it was a big factor in the decision but it wasn't all about that. She was genuinely excited and interested in the campus and program after reading up about it._

 _"Plus...I know how it feels. To be sidelined by an injury and have to work through all of that. Now I can help other people do the same thing or even maybe still have a chance to get back to their sport."_

 _Paige listened intently as Emily spoke with a passion that she hadn't heard in quite some time. Emily did seem completely invested and genuinely excited about the idea of this program._

 _"Plus it's just really not good being away from you. I knew it was going to be hard, but I never thought it would suck this much. Skype has nothing on the real thing." Emily joked, as she took a hold of Paige's hand between hers._

 _"I feel the same way, Em. I'm sorry this has been so hard."_

 _"It's okay. It's not your fault, but I just...I don't think I can handle another three years, Paige. I know that I can't and that's why I started looking into these schools because I don't want to lose you. I want to be with you, really with you, not with you but thousands of miles away from you."_

 _"I don't either. But I also don't want you to go somewhere you don't really want to go to either. I don't want you to be miserable at some school just because of me. I want you with me so much, Em, but not if you have to give up your home, your friends and family."_

 _All Emily could do was smile. She expected Paige to argue with her a little bit on this, knowing full well that she would probably be doing the same thing if the roles were reversed._

 _"That's just it though...I'm not giving anything up. Not you or anything else, ever again. By going to this school, I'm taking everything back that 'A' tried to take away from me. You, any chance I had for a real career, and even my freedom. All of that 'A' took complete control of and now I'm taking it back."_

 _Although 'A' had been gone for almost a year, it was still something Emily found herself thinking about. She knew the thoughts, the memories and scars would never completely fade from her mind, but she was doing everything she could to distance it all from her life now. Getting out of Rosewood was the next best thing for her._

 _"My friends are all at their own schools. I only really see them every now and then and my mom's been thinking about going back to Texas for a long time now. There's nothing left for me here, Paige. It's not home anymore...it's just where I live."_

 _It broke Paige's heart to see the deflated look in Emily's eyes. She knew that the distance had been hard on her girlfriend, but she was just seeing how much it was affecting her now._

 _"It's not supposed to be like that, you know? Home is supposed to be somewhere you feel safe, like you can just be and know that you're okay. And I don't feel like that, not without you here. I'd be lying if I said you weren't the main reason for me wanting to go but that's just because you're the only thing that feels like home to me anymore."_

 _Emily could see the red shade start to fill in on Paige's cheek, her head falling slightly like it always does when she's embarrassed or shy._

 _"I promise you, if this wasn't really what I wanted to do then I wouldn't be doing it. I wouldn't put that burden on you."_

 _Paige stayed quiet, her expression unreadable as she tried to gather her thoughts and figure out what to say next. In the end she said the only thing that came to mind._

 _"Okay." Paige said after another moment of silence, catching Emily slightly by surprise. She was expecting to have to do a bit more convincing, but Paige hadn't argued anymore._

 _"Yeah?" Emily asked, excitement filling her voice once again._

 _"If this is really what you want, I'm with you I just want you to be happy, it doesn't matter where you are and if you're with me then it's just a bonus on my end."_

 _Paige could have sworn she had never seen Emily so big in her life. She didn't say anything, but instead just grabbed Paige's face and kissed her, using her position above Paige to push the swimmer back against the mattress while she laid beside her. Paige smiled. her lips sliding against Emily's for a moment as she kissed her back._

 _"So you're okay with me joining you then?"_

 _"I'm far more than okay with that." Paige answered, brushing a strand of hair out of Emily's eyes. Sometimes it was still hard to believe that Emily was actually hers, that any of this was real and not a dream._

 _"Okay, cause you know I'd hate to cramp you're style or anything." Emily joked, smiling from ear to ear when she heard Paige laugh._

 _"I think you and I both know that I don't have all that much style, Em." Paige laughed again, but Emily shook her head at the statement, leaning in close to Paige's lips but keeping a small distance still between them._

 _"You've got more than you think." Emily whispered against her lips, finally pushing her own onto Paige's briefly._

 _"I'm going to have to find an apartment or something."_

 _"We can do that. I'm sure we can find something near each campus and I think my scholarship includes something about off campus housing. Or maybe we could work something out with our parents. Either way, we'll figure it out."_

 _"Yeah, we will." Emily agreed, knowing somehow they would find a way to make this new arrangement work out._

 _"If you're in then so am I." Paige said, her head nodding up and down and she smiled as Emily kissed her again._

 _"I'm in." Emily nodded, her smile widening more and more before her expression suddenly turned serious, her hand moving from Paige's chest as she raised a her finger in the air slightly. "Well, on one condition..."_

 _"What condition is that?" Questioning her girlfriend with a slightly nervous expression, Paige watched Emily's face closely as she started to smile once again._

 _"I still want my cross country road trip."_

 _Hearing Emily's response, Paige laughed, her head falling back into the pillow as she remembered the conversation she and Emily had, on the very bed they were lying on currently, all that time before. She could still remember the feeling of her heart beating wildly in her chest as she asked Emily to go with her. Never in a million years did she think that Emily would say yes, and now, even though it's not exactly as they originally planned, it was actually going to happen. It didn't even feel possible._

 _"I think that can be arranged." Paige said, still smiling widely as she moved in again, capturing Emily's lips between her own, her hand moving to cup her cheek and keep her close._

 _When they finally broke for air, Emily smiled and dropped her forehead against Paige's, their eyes meeting as Emily laced their fingers together._

 _"I love you."_

 _"I love you, too, Em."_

Emily had left with Paige a month later, her car stuffed full of all of her belongings that she had decided to take, while her mother took everything else with her to Texas since she felt no reason to stay in Rosewood by herself, and she and Paige had spent three days driving across the states to California, stopping at nearly every donut shop, diner and greatest ball of whatever along the way. It was their first real adventure together and Emily believed it had been the perfect start to their new life. Finally, after what felt like a century of disappointment, heart break and never ending torture, it was all coming back together. She was in control again.

Rosewood still had so many ghosts and shadows that it was hard to focus on anything but those bad memories, especially with her friends all away at their own schools. Emily saw California as the only logical place for her to be, mainly cause it was where she wanted to be, and because it was the perfect opportunity to gain a fresh start, one where she wouldn't be one of those girls everyone in town remembered for being arrested or stalked or whatever else they remembered her for.

She could finally just be Emily Fields again.

They had searched and searched for a whole week for an apartment that both of their families agreed upon and had finally found one two weeks before the move. It was a very tiny apartment, which Paige let Emily decorate fully just as she had promised all that time ago, just off the Stanford campus with the help of Paige's scholarship, each of them picking up small time jobs and both of their families chipping in, and life just ...truly started. Between classes, work, practice and swim meets the two of them spent as much time alone together as they could, although it wasn't always easy or perfect or without fights and frustration, they had worked through it all.

After two years at Foothill and earning her degree in physical therapy, Emily had kept her job as a waitress for another year while she volunteered and trained at clinics with licensed physical therapists and nurses, getting a feel of what her job would be like if she kept on the path. Eventually, after that year was almost up she had been offered a job as a physical therapist assistant at a clinic in Santa Clara, which sparked the move to the new apartment, and she loved it. She still had thoughts of going back to school at some point to earn her bachelors degree, maybe even possibly becoming an actual physical therapist instead of an assistant, but for now she was happy with where she was.

Unlike Emily, Paige had been very uncertain of what she wanted her future to be after graduation. At first Paige was sure that she had wanted to continue with a career in swimming, perhaps try out coaching or something along those lines, which would have been easy considering the number of records she had gained throughout her four year stint on the team, but as time passed and she got a job at a local gym, she found herself falling more and more in love with the idea of health and fitness instead. During her junior year she decided to work on getting certified as a personal trainer. Emily had loved the idea, thinking it would be a great fit for Paige considering how much time and effort she had put into keeping herself in shape over the years, something that was equally enjoyable for Emily. Paige had transitioned from working at the front desk of the gym to being a personal trainer for nearly three months now and had already managed to gain her own small group of clients within the establishment.

It wasn't easy at all getting to where they were now, but looking at that picture, of the two of them smiling so big while she sat in their brand new apartment, Emily knew it was so worth it all.

"...no help at all!"

"Ouch!" Emily scoffed as she was brought out of her thoughts by a slap to the arm from Reese, who was staring at her expectantly.

"Excuse me! I'm having a bit of an emotional crisis here. Can you not space out on me?"

"I'm sorry, I was just thinking." Emily grumbled as she rubbed the spot where she had been swatted.

"Well stop fantasizing about your girlfriend and help me!"

"Help you with what?" Emily asked, confused on what she was supposed to do right now.

"Feel better! Come on, you're supposed to be good at this kind of stuff. It's your job as the best friend."

"Okay, Reese..." Emily set her beer down on the coffee table, turning her full attention to the redhead as she reached over and took both of her hands. "I love you, you know that I do even though you drive me completely insane..."

"This is helping." Reese butted in sarcastically, but closed her mouth when Emily held her finger up at her.

"But...I do love you, which is why I'm going to tell you this and I know you're going to hear me when I say this." She stopped and took a small breath, looking at her friend with the most uplifting expression that she could muster.

"You're kind of a date whore and you just need to stop trying so hard."

Immediately, Reese's mouth fell open wide, completely in shock at what she just heard from the brunette.

"That's it? That's your big, wise, and helpful advice to me?"

"Yes." Emily nodded several times. "Honey, you could get any guy you wanted. But the problem is your trying so hard to rush and find that guy by dating all these wrong people and you're not giving anyone a chance to find you. Give yourself a break and just let the universe do it's thing."

"Ugh. That is so not what I wanted to hear." Reese grumbled, pulling her hands away from Emily with a huff.

"Well I'm sorry but it's true. I wasn't looking for Paige at all when we first went out and I never would have imagined she would be the person I would be with now." Emily admitted with a small laugh, remembering those first moments between them when she returned to the swim team. Paige McCullers was never somebody she would have ever expected to be interested in, but once she realized that the persona Paige put out for everyone to see wasn't the real her and she got to know that beautifully adorable and goofy side of her instead, it felt impossible not to fall for the girl.

"Just be patient." Emily told her friend, reaching over to squeeze the top of her knee.

"It'll be worth the wait."

Letting out another huff, Reese nodded her head and let her head fall onto Emily's shoulder. Smiling at shorter woman, Emily wrapped her arm around her shoulder and squeezed her for a moment.

"Fine. But you better be right."

"Don't worry, I will be and then you'll thank me one day." Emily said with such certainty that Reese didn't have much choice other than to trust her friend.

If waiting it out meant she had a chance to find something even close to as good as Emily and Paige had going, it would _definitely_ be worth the wait.

Hours later, after Reese had gone home to prepare herself for yet another dry night, Emily was stretched out lounging on the couch, her head buried deep into her laptop. She was going over her appointment list for the next few weeks, making sure her times were correct on her calendar and seeing which days she had free so she could let Paige know. They tried to at least have one day off a week together to do whatever they felt like. Both of their schedules were a bit crazy at the moment between both of them just starting their jobs recently, but they had done their best to keep in touch with one another at the same time. So far it was working out just fine for the young couple.

Hearing the sound of a key in the door, Emily looked up from her laptop just in time to see Paige walking through the door, pushing her bike in with her while holding onto Finn's leash at the same time. Paige was dressed in her usual gym attire, which consisted of a sleeveless t-shirt and black track pants, something Emily always enjoyed seeing her in, especially because she was able to appreciate the view of Paige's well toned arms without really being noticed. Emily loved Paige's arms. Everything about them just made something stir up in the pit of her stomach.

"Hey." Paige smiled brightly at her as she leaned her bike against the wall, removing her shoulder bag before hanging it up with her keys on the hook by the door.

"Hi, beautiful." Emily grinned, closing and setting her laptop aside as Paige came further into the room.

"Come on, boy." She heard Paige say, watching from the couch as Paige patted the side of her leg and waited for Finn to follow.

Hearing Finn's paws on the floor running her way, Emily leaned up further on the couch, and smiled widely when she saw the puppy come into view finally.

"Hi, baby." Emily cooed out in her best puppy voice as she petted Finn's soft fur all over, rubbing his belly and scratching behind his ears as he rolled around on the floor in front of her, getting up quickly to lick at her legs and then her face over and over.

"Hey, now. Watch yourself, mister." Paige pointed a mock stern finger at the tiny puppy, who's tail was wagging at rapid speed when Paige spoke to him. "She's mine."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah, really." Paige nodded, walking to the front of the couch before bending down to meet Emily's lips for a slow and lingering kiss.

Emily smiled fully against Paige's lips, breaking the contact just for a moment before pulling her girlfriend back in. Paige smiled as she rested both of her hands on the couch cushions, letting Emily pull her down onto the couch so that she was hovering above her girlfriend on the cushions.

"Hi." Paige repeated her greeting as she rested her forehead gently against Emily's, her hands sinking into the leather at her sides.

"Hi. How was work?" Emily asked, running her hand along Paige's chest before twirling a strand of her, recently lighter shade of brown, hair around her finger.

"It was good. Got a possible new client." Paige smiled, proud of herself for being able to make the progress that she had so far.

"That's great! See, I told you."

"I know. I know." Paige nodded, already knowing from the start that Emily was going to be right. She always had so much more faith in her than she did herself. When she had first thought of being a trainer she was afraid she wouldn't be able to get clients of her own, possibly because she was a woman, or perhaps because of her being gay or maybe even just because she sucked. But so far none of that was being proven true.

"Pretty soon I'm going to have to start making my own appointments just to make sure you don't forget about me."

"Well, just remember I require a twenty-four hour in advance notice for a session." Paige played off of Emily's joke.

"Do you make house calls?"

"Not at the moment, but for the right price I may be able to work something out in the future for you, Nurse Fields."

Seeing the mock seductive look on Paige's face, Emily couldn't contain herself anymore and bust out laughing.

"You're such a dork." Emily laughed again, covering her face with her hands as Paige started to kiss all over her cheeks.

"You started it." Paige reasoned, letting her arms rest for a moment as she laid her body down half on the couch and half on Emily, her head lying on her stomach. Feeling the toll of the day starting to hit, Paige closed her eyes, relishing in the feeling of Emily's fingers running through her hair.

"Guess what?"

"Hm?" Paige popped one eye open, looking at Emily briefly before turning her eyes to Finn who was laid out on the rug beside the couch, his small tummy rising and falling as he slept.

"I got the last box out of the storage unit today."

Paige turned her head slightly so her chin was resting on Emily's stomach, her other eye opening up so she could see her girlfriend better.

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yup. We are _officially_ moved in. No more boxes to open!"

"Well in that case, welcome home." Paige smiled, leaning up the short distance to kiss Emily's lips.

"It does feel like it though, doesn't it?"

"Like home?" Paige asked, seeing Emily nod her head and she did the same. "Yeah, I think so."

"Me too." Emily agreed, smiling sweetly at Paige as she rested her hand on the back of her neck.

"I also went to the store and got some groceries, but I was thinking since you know we are all moved in and everything now we should celebrate."

"Yeah?"

"Mhm, so I was thinking...pizza, beer and Netflix?" Emily offered with a shrug and smile.

Paige laughed in response, lifting her head from Emily's stomach as she raised her body back off the couch.

"Ah, see now that's why you're my favorite." Paige said, nodding her head as she pressed a lingering kiss to Emily's cheek.

"Sound good?" Emily asked, patting Paige's shoulders as she hovered over her.

"Very."

"Okay, good. But first you have _go_ t to take a shower because you reek."

Paige pulled her face away from Emily's, her jaw completely fallen open in shock and awe. "What?!"

"I'm sorry, but it's true!" Laughing at the look on Paige's face, Emily smiled weakly and patted her shoulders once again.

"I do not stink!"

"You kind of do though and you're rubbing it off on me." Emily teased her, pointing to the short distance between their bodies. She didn't want to be mean, but her girlfriend often forgot that her line of work caused her to come home smelling like a sweat sock sometimes.

"I don't understand why you don't just use the shower at the gym."

"Because that's gross and it's public!" Paige made a face, not even wanting to think about what might be going on in those stalls. She knew the gym she worked at was clean, but it still gave her the shivers when she thought of showering next to a bunch of strangers.

"You used to shower after swim practice all the time."

"No, I didn't. I always came home and showered." Paige answered, watching as Emily thought for a moment trying to remember if that was true.

"Okay, maybe not in college but I know you did in high school."

"Yeah, when I had company." Paige shot back, a smile spreading on her lips as she remembered those few times she and Emily had managed to sneak off to the showers together. It wasn't more than a handful of times, but they had never been caught and the whole thing had been a major turn on for her. How many people could say they hooked up with their girlfriends during swim practice? None that she knew of besides herself, well and Emily of course.

"Oh, yeah." Emily nodded, biting down on her bottom lip as she replayed those same images in her mind that Paige was. "I guess I never realized that you never used them besides those times."

"Yeah, well I just don't like public facilities but those times I had a pretty good distraction." Paige shrugged, leaning her head down slightly to kiss the tip of Emily's nose.

"You did." Emily nodded, not even caring that it sounded cocky. "For real though, you gotta go cause it's bad."

"Alright!" Paige huffed as she sat up and slid back a few feet on the couch, one leg resting between Emily's and the other now on the ground. Pulling at the front of her shirt slightly, Paige frowned as she noticed for the first time that she did have a bit of a stench she hadn't noticed before. Letting the shirt fall back into place, she shrugged her shoulders and looked at Emily expectantly for a moment.

"Let's go then."

Emily was startled as Paige suddenly grabbed a hold of her legs and slid her body down on the sofa, quickly moving her hands behind her ass and back in seconds.

"Paige!"

The whole thing happened so fast Emily didn't even have time to react before she was suddenly tossed over Paige's right shoulder, laughing as Paige smacked her butt and started walking around the coffee table towards the hallway.

"What are you doing?!" Emily yelled out, laughing as she put her arms around Paige's back, trying to shake her hair out of her face at the same time.

"You said I got you stinky so I figure you need a shower yourself." Paige smirked, holding Emily tightly around her waist so she didn't fall as she walked towards the bathroom.

"Oh my god! Finn! Finn, save me!" Emily jokingly called out for the puppy who quickly came running at the sound of his name.

"Finn, you stay right there. Hold down the fort, little guy." Paige spoke to the puppy who sat down in his spot, watching with his head titled as his owners walked away.

Running her towel over her head one final time, Emily walked into the bedroom, smiling to herself as she saw Paige standing at the dresser pulling her sweatshirt over her head.

"What are you staring at?" Paige asked with a grin, catching Emily watching her through the mirror hanging on the wall.

"Nothing. Just your cute butt."

Emily answered, giving said butt a tap as she walked beside her to get into the drawer Paige was standing in front of.

"Why you always trying to flirt with me, Fields?"

Paige teased, taking a step back to sit on the bed so she could pull her socks on. She kept her eyes on Emily the whole time though, watching her through the mirror as she brushed her hair.

"Cause you love it, McCullers."

Paige just smiled in response, turning her head to the left as she let her body fall completely on the bed as she looked at the fluffy ball of fur lying next to her.

"Are you supposed to be on the bed?" She asked Finn, who's tail was wagging and quickly gaining speed, his body inching towards Paige until he was close enough to lick her face.

"I don't think so, sir. I don't think you are supposed to be up here." She told him, but instead of making him get down she picked him up, kissed his snout and laid his tiny body down onto her tummy, petting his back softly until he was nearly asleep.

"I told Reese that we put him into doggy daycare and she nearly had a heart attack."

Not even surprised, Paige rolled her eyes and released a small chuckle. "She's nuts. She was over today?"

"Yeah, for a little bit." Emily answered, putting her brush down as she dried the ends of her hair with her towel again.

"Nothing new from her though. Although you did just prove her right."

"What do you mean?"

"She made a comment about us doing nothing but fucking all day and night." Emily said with a small laugh, although she wasn't upset about her friend being correct on that one.

"Jeez, it's not all day and night. All afternoon? Sure." Paige thought for a moment, considering the last few days.

"Maybe half the night. Anyways who cares. She's just projecting."

"She's just lonely." Emily admitted sadly, still hoping that Reese would take her advice and just wait for something to come her way.

The conversation was broken up at the sound of a phone chiming a few times, indicating a text message.

"Is that yours?" Paige asked, not bothering to move from her spot though.

"No, yours." Emily said as she picked up Paige's phone from the dresser.

"Who is it?"

"Uh..." Emily opened the screen and looked at the text, feeling slightly taken back by who it was from.

"Caleb."

"Oh! I forgot about that." Paige said, gently setting Finn to the side as she sat up to take the phone.

"You texted Caleb?" Emily asked her, not in an angry way but just curious. She hadn't spoken to him, or Hanna in a few months now. In fact she hadn't spoken to Spencer or Aria in about that same amount of time either. It was harder keeping in touch with them then she would have expected, not because she didn't want to but they were just all busy. With Hanna and Caleb getting married within the next year or two she was sure she would be seeing them eventually, but it was still weird to realize how much they weren't apart of her everyday life anymore.

"Yeah, I've got to design my own trainer page for the gym's website and since I have no idea what the hell I'm doing, I emailed Caleb and asked for some help." She answered, reading over the text before sending him back a quick reply.

"He said he'll call me tomorrow and talk me through some stuff." She told Emily, tossing her phone onto the nightstand.

"You okay?" Paige asked, standing up and moving close to Emily when she saw the distraught look on her face.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just-I need to call Hanna. And Spencer and Aria. It's been a long time."

"I know." Paige nodded, knowing that Emily missed her old friends. They had made plenty of new friends since moving away from Rosewood, friends that they loved and adored, especially Reese, but Paige knew that the bond those four girls had made in those last few years would stick with them forever. They would never be replaced.

"When Caleb calls tomorrow you should talk to her."

"I will." Emily nodded, smiling at Paige as she leaned up to give her a kiss. "I'm okay, promise."

"Okay."

Paige knew better than to press the issue, so she let it be, which was good because the doorbell had just sounded off.

"Pizza's here." Emily said, looking around for her bag, which she found sitting on the chair in the corner of the room. "It's supposed to be like sixteen dollars or something so just let him keep this."

Emily handed Paige a twenty dollar bill from her purse, looking at Paige expectantly when she made no move to go and answer the door.

"What?"

"Why don't you get it?" Paige asked, trying to hold back the smile creeping up on her lips.

"I'm in a towel." Emily said, an obvious tone to her voice.

"Exactly. We might be able to get it for free!"

"Oh my god!"

Emily picked up a pillow on the edge of the bed and smacked Paige in the stomach playfully, hearing Paige laugh as she ducked away from the assault.

"Kidding! Just kidding!" Paige stepped away from Emily still laughing as she headed towards the door.

"I'll get it!" Paige huffed, clapping her hands together quickly twice before leaving the room.

"Come on, Finn! Come be my attack dog."

Finn was up on his feet quick, using the ottoman at the end of the bed to help him get down, rushing to Paige's side as they left the room. Emily just laughed to herself, walking to the closet to pick out some clothes. Finding her favorite shirt, which was actually belonged to Paige from when she swam. Emily didn't know why she loved it so much, but every time it was clean she was the one usually wearing it opposed to Paige. It was nothing truly special, just a red t-shirt with Stanford written out in white letters with McCullers spelled out on the back as well. But Emily loved it and had pretty much claimed it after that first day Paige wore it.

Dropping her towel, she slipped the shirt over her head and changed into a pair of grey sweatpants before walking out of the room, dropping her wet towels off in the laundry basket on the wall. Using the hair tie around her wrist, she slicked the top of her hair back and pulled her still slightly wet hair into a tight bun as she entered the living room where Paige was setting the food out.

"Totally could have got that for free! That kid was like sixteen, he would have completely died if you answered that door." Paige teased her from the kitchen, chewing on a breadstick as she got out some plates and dressings out for the food.

"Well maybe next time."

Emily walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge, grabbing out some drinks before gathering napkins and other things they would need. Once they got their slices and salads together, the two walked into the living room and sat down on the couch beside one another, Emily turning on the TV so they could continue on with their 'Orange Is The New Black' watchathon. They hadn't ever even heard of the show until Reese told them about it, something that was strange to both of them at first, but anybody can watch a show and like it they eventually figured.

They watched the first season together in just a matter of days and they had done the same with the second season and were now moving onto the third.

"Want some?" Paige held out the bottle of Ranch dressing to Emily, smiling around her mouthful of food.

"No." Emily said, not even trying to hide her disgust, which only made Paige laugh. Every time they ate pizza, even when Paige didn't jokingly offer her the condiment, she was reminded of that night when she had tried the buffalo and ranch pizza concoction for the first time. Her stomach still slightly turned when she thought of it.

"Here you go." Paige said, handing Emily the hot sauce that she knew she wanted, pressing a lingering kiss to cheek as a quiet peace offering.

"Thank you. So where were we cause I totally forgot?" Emily asked, scrolling through the episodes as she tried to remember which one they had watched last.

"I think episode four, right?"

"Oh, yeah." Emily nodded, pressing play on the remote before setting it down and reaching for her beer as the opening credits started. "This season kind of sucks though."

"Little bit." Paige agreed, wiping her mouth with a napkin as she swallowed her food before taking a drink from her own beer.

"But that's what always happens when shows get popular. They get too big too fast and then the people behind it screw it all up because they think they don't need to impress people anymore. They don't care about the quality or the plot anymore cause they know people will still watch it so who cares?"

"That's so stupid though." Emily replied, not understanding the logic in that at all. "If the show is popular you'd think people would work harder to make the show even better and even more worth watching."

"You'd think." Paige nodded, reaching for her next slice of pizza. "But that doesn't seem to be the way anymore. Once the money starts coming in and the hash tags start trending it's all over."

Sighing, Emily took a bite from her pizza and leaned back against the couch as the two turned their focus to the show.

After watching a few episodes of OITNB, Emily and Paige decided they were done with the show for the time being and instead had decided to watch a movie instead. They had decided on an old comedy that Paige had never heard of but Emily said was a good one. It was pretty funny, but Paige was finding it hard to concentrate on anything that was going on. She couldn't even remember the name of the movie at this point.

From her spot in the middle of the couch, Paige turned her eyes towards Emily, who was focused completely on the TV. Her feet were resting in Paige's lap, her toes twitching every now and then when Paige tickled her heel. Paige couldn't focus on the TV but instead found herself looking at Emily every few minutes. She didn't know why, but she just couldn't keep her eyes away from her. Every time she heard her laugh or saw her smile, Paige had to look at her, a growing tingle in her stomach as she watched her.

She was so damn beautiful. Especially when she was like this. In her pajamas with no make-up or care in the world. That was Paige's favorite version of Emily. The one where she could just...be. No pressures or worries or expectations of any kind. When she was just Emily, just sitting at home and doing nothing at all, she was perfect. Nights like these were her favorite, where they just got to be themselves. Of course they enjoyed the occasional night out too, they were still in there early twenties for hells sake, and they enjoyed a night at the bar or club every now and then. But these were the nights that Paige preferred most of all. After living in Rosewood, quiet nights were like heaven on earth.

"You're missing the movie." Emily said, not even looking in Paige's direction as she spoke. She had felt Paige's eyes on her the entire time they had been watching the movie, or while she had been watching the movie at least. Every now and then she looked over at Finn who was fast asleep on the floor in front of the recliner as well, but for the majority of the past forty-five minutes, Paige had been watching her but she never said anything. Just watched in silence and Emily was growing more and more curious as to why.

"Come here."

Looking Paige's way finally, Emily smiled curiously as she took in the expression on Paige's face.

"What?"

"Come here." Paige said again, a little more earnest this time as she reached her hand out for Emily. Unsure of what Paige was wanting exactly, Emily took her hand and allowed Paige to pull her forward until she was practically straddling her waist.

Even then though, Paige didn't say anything. She just stared at Emily, in a way that Emily had never seen before. A small smile was spread out on Paige's lips as she reached out and touched Emily's cheek, her thumb brushing against her lips.

"Paige." Emily spoke softly, urging her girlfriend to come out of whatever thought bubble she was stuck in and talk to her.

"I love you."

"I love you, too." Emily said instantly, not even hesitating to return the sentiment.

"No, I mean I _really_ love you. I don't even know how to describe it, but I just, I love you so much it actually hurts a little bit. It's even terrifying, frustrating even sometimes because I don't know how to not love you, you know?"

Emily wasn't even sure what to say. Paige's voice was so small, but yet so confident and full of love that Emily felt a little lost. She didn't know where these thoughts were coming from but she listened closely to what Paige was saying. The movie was long forgotten now as she focused solely on Paige.

"You are the only person that I've ever been in love with, Em. I don't even know what it feels like to want somebody else besides you."

Although Emily couldn't exactly say the same thing, she knew what Paige meant. It was no surprise to anyone that Emily had feelings for other girls in the past, but Emily was also well aware that none of those feelings even compared a little bit to how she felt about Paige. Emily had loved before, but she had never been loved the way Paige loved her. It was a whole new world loving somebody that loved you back whole heartedly.

"Are you just like trying to make me cry or something?" Emily asked, laughing slightly as she wiped the edge of her eyes.

"No. No, I'm not trying to do that." Paige said, touching Emily's cheek again as she smiled.

"I just wanted you to know." Paige shrugged her shoulders, swallowing a developing thump in her throat.

"I just want you to be happy. Em. Everyday I want you to wake up and just be happy and know that I love you more than anything."

"I do know that." Emily told her sincerely, wanting Paige to know that she felt the same way as well. Nothing mattered more to her than Paige's happiness.

"And I am happy. Believe me, I am. There's nothing more that I could want or need then what I have right here."

"Me neither." Paige said, her eyes falling to her lap for a moment. Looking back up at Emily, she let out a long sigh and licked her lips.

"I know you thought you weren't going to have to open any more boxes, but there is still one left."

"What?" Emily asked, confused by the shift in discussion, looking around the room to see where the box was that she missed. "Where?"

"Right here."

Looking back at Paige, Emily's breath caught in her throat instantly and she felt her mouth immediately go dry. A tiny black box sat in the middle of Paige's palm. A very distinct looking box and Emily seriously began to think that there was no oxygen left in her body.

Paige was just smiling. Her face so full of joy and love that Emily couldn't even barely stand to look at her because it was only making it harder for her to breathe.

"I've been trying to figure out how to do this. Like something over the top extravagant with like fireworks or some kind of treasure hunt, you know?" Paige asked but she didn't wait for an answer.

"I just wanted it to be perfect. But then I realized that I was going about it all wrong. We're not those kind of people, you and me, were not over the top or crazy extravagant, I mean we're not boring either but-"

Emily finally found her breath, laughing quietly as she listened to Paige speak, not even realizing that she had started to cry.

"We're just us, I guess is what I'm trying to say. And this right now you, me, and Finn just sitting here with pizza, beer, and Netflix is more perfect than anything else. I couldn't ask for anything more than that. I could be here every night with you and do this and it would never not be good enough for me. Just the three of us, or maybe someday not just the three of us, you know?" Paige chuckled a little, sniffing slightly as she stared down at the box in her hands.

"Sorry now I'm rambling and this is getting long and-"

"Paige." Emily laughed, tears still falling from her eyes. She reached out and put her hand on top of Paige's, squeezing her fingers lightly.

"Just ask."

Nodding slightly, Paige took a small breath as she opened the tiny black box in her hands, realizing for the first time that her hand was slightly shaking. Emily saw the diamond ring sitting in the box, instantly finding it to be beautiful and suddenly it was hard to breathe again.

Looking up, Paige smiled and glanced back at the ring before she found Emily's eyes again. She paused, watching Emily's face again, sad that she was crying but the smile on her face proved them to be happy tears. Taking a short breath, Paige found her voice again.

"Em, will you marry me?"

The question caused a tingle to rise in Emily's stomach, her whole body feeling like it was going to burst. She didn't even know what to do or say, her body moving on instinct as she leaned forward, both of her hands grabbing a hold of her cheeks, and kissed Paige. She kissed her for what seemed like forever, giving everything she had into that kiss and hoping that Paige would be able to feel even something as close as to what Emily was feeling in that moment.

She felt Paige's hand on her neck, holding her close as the kissed and kissed. Only when Emily felt like she would pass out from lack of oxygen did she finally pull away.

"Is that a yes or a maybe?" Paige asked, earning a laugh from Emily who kissed her again.

"Yes."

"Yes, yes, or yes maybe?' Paige questioned, her eyebrow lifted slightly.

"Paige." Emily laughed, shaking her head at the woman she loved so much. "Yes, yes."

"Yeah?"

"Yes." Emily nodded, watching as Paige released a huge sigh and dropped her head against the back of the couch.

"Oh." Grinning in that way that still made Emily feel like she was eighteen all over again, Paige carefully removed the ring from the box that she was still holding before setting it to the side.

"Here."

Taking Emily's left hand in her right one, Paige slid the band onto her finger and watched Emily as she took in the sight of it. It was a very simple ring, nothing extravagant, just like Emily would have wanted. It was simple white gold solitaire setting with one single cushion diamond in the middle.

"Does it fit okay?

"Perfect." Emily stated simply, still amazed and shocked at the fact that there was a ring on her finger. She knew that Paige was the one for her, she had known that for years, but they had really never talked about actually getting married before in full detail. But now, with the ring on her finger and Paige next to her she knew that there was nothing more that she wanted.

Looking away from the ring, Emily looked back at Paige and smiled, her eyes refilling with tears once again.

"I love you."

"I know." Paige nodded, feeling nothing but that from the girl next to her. "I love you, too. More than you know."

Emily leaned in towards Paige, kissing her again and again and again. Wrapping her arms around her neck, Emily broke the kiss and buried her head into Paige's neck, just wanting to feel the other girls arms around her.

"And you know what?" She heard Paige's muffled words, releasing her grip on the girl momentarily so she could look at her.

"What?"

"It won't even have to be pretend."

Emily's body shook as she laughed, her head falling on Paige's shoulder as she caught her breath.

"That's true."

Paige smiled, her face close to exploding it was so wide, but she didn't even care. Grabbing a hold of Emily's hand, she kissed her fingers and admired the way the ring looked on her hand.

"Your mom was right, this one was perfect."

"Wait, my mom knows?" Emily asked in surprise.

"Yeah, she helped me pick it out when they came down for graduation. Actually your dad knows too. I talked to them about it."

Watching Paige closely, Emily grinned and pointed her finger at Paige. "You asked permission didn't you?"

"Hell yeah." Paige answered without hesitation. "I've seen your dad's gun. That thing is no joke."

Covering her face with her hands, Emily laughed, her head shaking as she tried to imagine how that conversation went between Paige and her parents. They loved Paige, Emily knew that and she knew that Paige was just as fond of the Fields as well, but she couldn't have pictured that conversation going easy. More than likely because Paige was probably a total mess during the whole thing.

"But I got their approval and I got the ring before they left, but like I said I just wanted to ask when it felt right."

"Well, you did a very good job."

"I guess I do have a bit of style."

Grinning, Emily nodded as she moved in again, grabbing a hold of Paige's cheeks and kissed her. That was all she wanted to do, just kiss Paige over and over.

"You're missing the movie." Paige teased Emily when they parted, both of them smiling like a couple of kids on Christmas morning.

"Well, maybe if you'd stop flirting with me..."

Emily felt Paige's chest vibrate as she laughed, wrapping her arms around Emily's waist tightly as she shifted the both of them to a more comfortable laying position on the couch. Emily snuggled closely into Paige's side, wrapping her arm tightly around her waist while Paige left her arm around Emily's shoulder.

A small jingling sound caught the attention of both of them, each other leaning of the side of the couch to see Finn slowly trotting his way towards the couch, his name plate hooked on his collar the source of the jingling. Reaching the edge of the couch, he rested his two front paws onto the leather, his tail wagging as he looked at the two women.

"Oh, alright." Paige said after sharing a look with Emily. Carefully moving her arm from around Emily, Paige picked the tiny puppy up and let him snuggle into the sofa near their feet.

The film credits rolled about an hour later, both Paige and Finn fast asleep but Emily was wide awake. Looking between Finn and Paige, Emily smiled to herself as she let her body fall further into Paige's side, her foot running softly over Finn's back at the same time.

There was nothing better than this.


	2. Chapter 2

_Hi everybody. So, I decided to write a second half to this story. It's pretty long. Like 20,000 plus words long. I've been working on it for a while now, at least like five months I think. I don't get a lot of time to write so I just write as much as I can when I can. Thanks to everyone and anyone who has taken the time to read, comment, favorite or follow any of my stories. It's very flattering and it makes me want to keep writing. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I do have some ideas for a story but I just can't decide which idea to go with and I'm not very good at doing more than one story at a time...so once I get that figured out I might be able to post something more long term. I'm working on it at least. Until then you might just get more one shots. Unless you don't want them then I'll stop. Just gotta tell me what and how you're feeling, alrighty?_

 _Anyways, thank you all very much and I hope you'll enjoy this second and final installment of this story._

 _Also, I'm still figuring out how to use this place so I'm sorry if the line breaks aren't working out to well cause I know that's irritating as hell. Sometimes I'm just not all that smart though :)_

 **Chapter 2 : Twelve years, Two months, Nine days**

* * *

"Okay, give me five more of those."

"Ah, come on! You're killing me here, Paige!"

"Come on, just five more and then you get to rest! You got it, Franco." Paige encouraged her client, patting him on the leg as she waited for him take a breath and finish his reps on the weight machine. He was five in on his fifth set and Paige knew he could finish the set easily, even if he had to take a short break in between.

Franco was a regular client of Paige's, probably for about eight months and so far the two had worked very well together. For being over sixty years old, Franco had done extremely well so far in his journey, and Paige was more than impressed with the work he had done, which is why she knew it was good to be tougher on him. He could take it much better than most people. In the years she had worked as a personal trainer she quickly learned that the tough love routine didn't always work, especially on the younger clients that she had, but more times than not she had been able to adjust her technique and get the job done.

"Let's go! Five more!" Paige spoke sternly as she leaned her hands against her knees, but kept the smile on her face as she moved around to the back of the weight machine and gripped the weight bar sitting across the top of the machine, waiting for him to do the same.

"Alright, alright."

Huffing slightly, Franco wiped his hands on his gym shorts before he gripped the weight bar hanging above him and, with Paige's help, lifted it from the locks and dropped it to his chest before lifting it up again smoothly. Paige stood above him, her hands positioned just above the bar as it came up each time, ready to grab it just in case there was a problem, but Franco managed to get his last reps in without any issue.

"Good boy." Paige joked, patting Franco on the chest after he finished and they placed the bar back into the locks.

"One of these days kiddo..." Franco laughed, not finishing his thought but instead just pointed his finger at Paige, a clear grin on the older man's face as he sat up from the bench and stretched his arms over his head with a groan.

"You know you love me, Frank." Paige smiled, reaching to the floor for the bottle of water sitting at her feet, handing it over to Franco who took it happily.

"You're alright." He nodded, nearly drinking down the entire bottle before he reached for the towel at the end of the bench and wiped the dripping sweat from his face and neck, scrubbing the towel into his grey scruffy beard that surrounded his chin.

Franco was a sweet guy. A little taller than Paige when he stood up to his full height, with a natural tanned complexion, brown eyes and salt and pepper colored hair. He was originally from Spain, from what he had told Paige, and had come to the states almost forty years ago before he started working in a steel factory, eventually working his way to being the manager. Franco had a wife of almost thirty years and seven children that he talked about often. Paige had even met a couple of them here and there. He was an all around nice guy that Paige enjoyed working with, especially when he told her old stories about his life in Spain, even more so after the trip she and Emily had taken there four years prior.

"At least when you're not being mean to me." He laughed, taking the helping hand up that Paige offered to him.

"I am never mean to you!" Paige scoffed, walking along side Franco as they weaved their way through the line of equipment and the few people that had already entered the gym.

Since it was only just after six in the morning, there weren't too many people inside yet, but Paige knew in the next hour or so there would be more people littering the area who wanted to get their workout done early. The gym itself didn't have many personal trainers on hand, Paige was one of just five, which meant that she usually had a full day of sessions set up on a weekly basis, minus her two days off, unless for some reason her appointments got cancelled or had to be rescheduled, on which case Paige would either take the day to herself or offer assistance to any walk-ins or regulars that came into the gym that day.

Usually Paige wasn't at work this early as she never scheduled a session before eight on most days to work with her schedule at home, but she had made an exception for Franco this morning when he had told her he would be out of town the following week and would miss their regular meetings. Considering the fact that technically she was supposed to have had the entire day off, she had at first been ready to just tell Franco to take the week off and enjoy himself, but when Franco said he could meet as early as five in the morning, Paige agreed.

"No, you just push me around cause I'm old."

"You're not even old, Franc. I know people even younger then me that don't get around half as good as you do." Paige said sincerely, proud of the progress Franco had achieved in their short time together. He had pushed himself harder in each of their sessions and Paige could see not only the physical side of his progress, but also the mental side. It was a great feeling for her when she saw somebody walk out of the gym feeling a million more times confident, happy, and ready to take on the world.

She had been extremely unsure of herself when she had first considered the career path, but after years of doing it now and seeing the people, although not all of them unfortunately, she had trained come through on the other side better than when they first walked in and seeing them change their lives for the better, she knew there was nothing else she wanted to be doing.

"Well, thank you." Franco smiled widely, reaching his hand down as he patted Paige on her shoulder.

"You ready to hit the track?" Paige asked, using her hand motioned to the floor above them where the running track was located.

"Not today, my friend. I gotta get home and finish packing up."

"Where you guys headed?" Paige asked as she leaned against the service counter, crossing her arms over her chest as she listened closely.

"Cancun." Franco said with an excited grin. "We are celebrating our anniversary."

"Didn't you celebrate your anniversary in March?" Paige checked, ready to call the larger man out if he was just trying to avoid doing the next phase of the work out.

"Our wedding anniversary, yes. But this is our first anniversary." Franco told her, the confusion on her face prompting him to further explain.

"When we first started going together. It'll been forty-three years tomorrow."

"Oh." Paige nodded, understanding him better now as she took a second to let his words sink in. "Wow. That's a really long time."

"I was twenty-three when I met Grace." Franco said, chuckling lightly as he rubbed his hand over his scruffy beard. "It's been a hell of a ride." He laughed, his eyes becoming softer as he smiled widely.

"I'll bet. That amount of time, I'm sure you've had your share of craziness."

"You been with Emily a long time as well, yes?"

"Uh, yeah." Paige nodded, taking a moment to think before she answered.

"Twelve years, actually." She answered, surprising herself with the answer. She hadn't actually realized, or thought about, until now really just how long she and Emily had been together. It was slightly startling, but more than anything it was...relieving? She didn't know if that was actually the correct word to describe it, but it was the first one that came to her mind.

Twelve years is obviously a long time to be with anybody, especially now when most people tend float from person to person to person within a week at a time. The fact that Paige and Emily had met and began dating in high school only made it that more impressive to Paige, especially considering their last high school years weren't exactly the smoothest. So many times Paige thought they had finally reached their breaking point, that they couldn't come back from the predicaments 'A' and they themselves had put them into.

But yet, here they were. Twelve years later, half of which they had been married, and Paige felt a rush of pride run through her entire body, her smile spreading full across her face. How could she not be proud of that fact?

"Wow, I didn't even realize it'd been that long."

"It goes by quicker than you think." Franco replied "That's good though. Kids these days go through relationships like tissues, it's good you don't do the same."

"No, that whole thing was never really for me. Emily's the only person I've ever even had a relationship with." Paige admitted, not sure if the brief bit of time she had spent with Shana truly counted. In her heart she knew it didn't, at least not to her. Honestly if she thought about it she wasn't even quite sure what she had seen in the other girl.

"How's that beautiful girl of yours doing?"

"She's good. Real good." Paige smiled brightly, nodding her head several times as Emily's face appeared in her mind.

"You make sure you take care of her now." Franco spoke sternly, pointing his finger at the young trainer. He had met Emily a handful of times through his sessions with Paige and even with the short meetings he thought Emily was a lovely lady.

"Always." Paige answered with a nod and smile.

"Good girl. You take care okay? I'll see you next week." Franco offered his hand to Paige, smiling as she took it and gave it a firm shake. "Thank you again for coming in so early for me today."

"No problem. Enjoy your trip," Paige waved goodbye to him as he left, calling out to him just as he walked out the door.

"Be ready to lift and run when you get back!"

"You see? You are mean!" Franco called back, waving at her again through the window as he walked down the sidewalk away from the gym.

Paige smiled to herself, pulling her phone out from her pocket to check the time as she did her best to stifle a yawn. She figured Emily probably wasn't awake yet so she could probably stop on the way home and get some coffee and breakfast for them.

"You know what I love about working in a gym?"

Paige quickly glanced up from her phone, her neck craning back towards the familiar flamboyant voice behind her.

"What?"

"That right there." The man tipped his head slightly, almost so discreetly that Paige nearly missed it. Paige turned her head towards the main floor but really had no idea what she was looking at or for. Turning her gaze back to the spikes haired man behind her she tried her best to follow his eye sight, eventually landing on a man currently doing squats on his own in the middle of the floor.

"Mm. The things I could do to him! He wouldn't be able to bend down like that for days." He moaned under his breath, causing Paige to laugh and shiver at the same time as she spoke.

"Oh my god, Clay." Paige shook her head as she looked away from the gentleman and turned back around so she was facing that counter.

Clay was the assistant manager of the gym for over five years now, starting there about a year after Paige had begun training there. The two had hit it off pretty well, despite their very different personalities that hardly matched in any category. Clay was very outspoken, very blunt and extremely unwilling to commit to much of anything. He had no problem carrying his sexuality on his sleeve, which he did very well majority of the time, and Paige was actually a little jealous of how well he showed that he just didn't give a fuck what anyone thought about anything he did, said or believed to be true.

He stood at about the same height as Paige with black hair that was usually always styled in a spiked fashion, surprising Paige with all the different versions he came up with, and he was surprisingly buff considering that Paige never saw him work out other than the few times she had managed to get him to join her. When they had first met Paige had guessed that he was gay but even if she hadn't it didn't take long for her to figure it out. Clay had been anything but in the closet when he first arrived, not caring if he hit on people out in the open of the gym. He enjoyed it more than anything.

Although Paige was completely comfortable in her skin, more so now than she ever had been in the last several years, she still often found herself not to be much of an overly obvious PDA type. Emily wasn't either though, so it worked out for her anyways, but sometimes when Clay told her stories about the shenanigans he got up to in clubs or bars or even the back aisle of the local grocery store, she wished she had been that brave years and years ago.

"What? You can't just dangle something delicious in front of people like that and not expect a reaction." Clay said in utter seriousness.

"Don't put it on the menu if it's not available to everyone." Clay pointed a finger at the trainer as he glanced back down at the magazine that was sitting on the counter below him.

"I'm pretty sure that guy is married Clay. I've trained his wife before." Paige explained as she leaned her elbows on the counter, crossing her legs as she let her whole body rest against the marble.

"Oh, please. Like that even matters. I could fuck him right out of that misery."

"Who are we fucking out of their misery?" Another voice spoke from behind Paige, this one softer and less full of sarcasm.

"Hey, Karina." Paige greeted the brunette with a friendly smile as she shoved her phone back into her pocket. Karina worked behind the customer service counter, the young woman was much more subtle and far more professional then the latter, but the two of them got along fairly well for being on opposite ends of the spectrum.

"I thought you were off today?"

"I am. I just had a quick session today with one of my regulars. I'm about to head out."

"Ah. So again I ask, who are we fucking out of their misery?"Karina asked nonchalantly as she started looking through the sign in logs. After working at the gym for nearly a year she was used to these types of discussions with the flamboyant man, and occasionally, although not usually by choice, Paige.

"Nobody. Clay is just sexually harassing the members again."

"Excuse me. Admiring is not harassing." He whipped his head up at her, posting his finger in Paige's direction. "You guys are just jealous."

"Hey! What are you putting me in the mix for? I didn't do anything." Karina scoffed as she jabbed her elbow at Clay with little force.

"And tell me Clay, what exactly is it that I'm jealous of?" Paige asked with a smirk. She did get quite an enjoyment out of these odd little discussions sometimes.

"Because I can walk around this gym or down the street and pick out any guy I want, fuck him senseless, and then move onto the next."

"How exciting." Paige remarked with little enthusiasm to which Karina nodded in agreement.

"Um, it is! And it's not like you couldn't do the same. Today alone I've seen at least six girls checking you out."

"Liar." Paige shot back, shaking her head as she subconsciously looked around the gym.

"No, I'm serious. Girls are always checking you out and you could easily pick from the liter of them. Guys too, but I know that ain't happening, which is fine with me because it gives me a better spread to choose from." Clay smirked as she poked his tongue out slightly.

"Okay for real though, you can't tell me you're not even a little bit tempted. A nice sexy fling just once? God, I'm into it. I hooked up with this guy a couple of nights ago and oh. my. god, I'm still sore."

"Ugh. Too much information!" Karina grumbled, although she couldn't help the small laugh that escaped her throat anyways. Clay just had no shame whatsoever.

"I'm just saying. It was a good fucking night. And a good fucking night. Don't be jealous, alright?"

"Well that might work for you Clay, but that's not exactly my style. It never has been, which you should know considering that you have met my wife."

"And she's a doll." Clay offered with a genuine smile. Emily came into the gym at least once a week to meet Paige for lunch or if she got off work early, or sometimes to even get a work out in herself.

"You and Emily are very cute together." Karina agreed with a smile that Paige returned.

"Exactly. I mean don't you want that?" Paige couldn't help but ask him, realizing that she never really had before even though the thought was on her mind when Clay talked about his sexual encounters.

"A real relationship instead of meaningless one night stands over and over?"

"What else do you need? You get the good part without all the bullshit mixed in between. In and out, literally, and done." Clay explained with a smile the whole time, but Paige saw a spark of something behind his eyes that didn't quite match his words.

"You can't tell me you're never tempted by the idea of a hot little fling with a with a hot young thing." Clay suggested, leaning forward towards Paige over the counter as his eyes looked out into the crowd.

"Clay! She's married." Karina added in, almost as if she was offended by the idea of it herself.

"I know that! But she hasn't always been married." Scoffing slightly, he turned his eyes away from Karina and looked back to Paige with an inquisitive look on his face. "I'm sure you had plenty nights of meaningless sex with the swimmer girls back in your college days, didn't you? All those weekends away in hotel rooms must have been pretty convenient for you."

"Nope. Actually not." Was all Paige said after taking a moment to think over the assumption.

"I didn't have any hook ups in college. I was with Em."

"Okay. What about high school? I bet you were a lady killer in high school." Karina offered up with a quick wink, unable to help herself from joining in on the game now that Paige was actually going along with it. Paige was quiet but she was charming in a way that showed more than she realized. Karina had also seen numerous woman check the trainer out during the day, and even a few men from time to time. She was attractive in more ways than the average woman that walked through the door.

"Um, nope. I was with Emily then too."

"Alright, so then when you weren't with Emily! You had to have had some hot hook ups before you guys got together." Clay stated, his tone laced with a tad bit of frustration and as he waited for an answer, but Paige remained silent. Suddenly, Clay's mouth dropped just slightly as he held up his hands, his eyes going wide as he leaned in close to Paige as if he was about to whisper a secret to her.

"Wait a second." Was all he got out as he pointed his finger at the trainer, his voice coming out in a much louder tone.. "Please tell me Emily is not the only person you've ever been with."

Tilting her head to the side, Paige smiled somewhat cockily as she shrugged her shoulders. "She is."

"What?!"

"Are you kidding?"

Clay and Karina spoke at the same time. Paige was completely flabbergasted at how this conversation had spiraled so far into her personal life, but the look on Clay's face, the fact that he for once was actually speechless was pretty entertaining, she had to admit.

"No. I'm serious. Emily's the only girl I've ever been with."

"Oh, my god! That's so sweet!" Karina gushed, her hand dramatically covering her heart as she looked over at Clay, who had still not said another word.

"You alright there, Clay?" Paige chuckled, waving her hands in front of the younger man's face.

"Oh, you poor little lesbian. You have no idea what is out there in the world. There is so much, so many!" Clay practically hollered as he found his voice again, his hands hitting the counter top as he spoke.

"So what?" Came the flat response from Paige as she took a quick glance around the room to make sure nobody was focusing on them, and she was relieved to see that nobody was.

"So! So you're seriously okay with the fact that you've never had sex with another person in your life? That doesn't bother you?" Clay look at Paige in astonishment as he watched her walk around the counter and reach under the table for her gym bag that she had stowed there that morning.

"A lot of things bother me, Clay. Like world hunger and poverty, or this conversation even, but the fact that the only person I've ever slept with just so happens to be my wife, doesn't. Not one little bit."

"Oh, honey you are missing out. You guys must be so bored."

"Why would we be bored?" Paige questioned as she threw her coat on real quick, checking to make sure her keys were still in her pocket.

"Because you've only had sex with one person for twelve years! God, I'm feeling limp just thinking about it. Same thing over and over? That's like eating one flavor of ice cream your entire life and ignoring all the others!"

"I guess we will just have to agree to disagree on that one." Paige shrugged as she picked up the pen next to the sign in sheet and scratched her signature down real quick.

"I think it's sweet." Karina added as she slapped Clay in the arm. "That's true love right there."

"Or the world's greatest tragedy."

"Alright as much as I am enjoying this completely intrusive conversation, I'm going home. You guys have a good one." Paige waved goodbye quickly as she threw her bag over her shoulder and headed for the door, all the while ignoring as Clay yelled after her.

"This isn't over McCullers!"

"Bye!"

* * *

"Let's go, boy. Come on."

Paige ushered Finn out of the elevator as it reached the second floor, holding onto his leash a little tighter as she began walking down the hall in front of her, while at the same time trying to balance the tray of coffee and bag of food she was holding in her other hand. Pulling her keys from her pocket with a slight struggle, she stopped in front of the apartment door, sliding the key into the lock and twisting before letting herself in.

After getting home from work that morning, Paige had returned to the apartment and grabbed Finn for his morning walk before stopping and getting some breakfast on the way back home.

"Hold on a second." Paige grumbled at Finn slightly as she set the tray of coffee down on the table beside the door, reaching down with her free hand to unclip his leash so he could be on his way.

"There ya go." She patted his side gently and watched as he took off into the apartment in search for his water bowl, she assumed, her guess proving to be true when she heard him lapping away at the cold water in his bowl on the opposite side of the counter.

Hanging up the leash along with her keys and jacket, Paige took the tray of coffee and bag of food into the kitchen and set them onto the counter. Pulling one of the cups free from the holder, she took a generous sip from the hot coffee as she started to open the bag in front of her.

"There you are."

Paige's hands stalled on the bag as her eyes lifted, quickly finding Emily's across the counter as she walked out of the hall and around the kitchen island towards her.

"Morning, beautiful." Paige smiled, moving her right arm out and wrapped it around Emily's waist when she curled her body into her side.

"Good morning." Emily replied with a small smile, tilting her head up slightly to kiss Paige's lips a few times.

"Where'd you sneak off to?" Emily asked her, patting Paige's stomach lightly as she looked at the bag of food on the counter. She wasn't used to waking up without Paige beside her or without her at least saying goodbye when she did, so when she had woken up to find her wife missing, she had been curious but not necessarily worried about where she had gone, especially when she noticed that Finn was missing as well. Paige often took Finn with her for her morning run or if she had to make a quick stop somewhere before work.

"I had my early session with Franco today. Then I saw we were out of coffee so I took Finn with me to grab these from the cafe down the street. Got some breakfast too."

"Oh, I forgot to get that yesterday." Emily frowned slightly as she scratched the top of her head, her fingers rummaging through her hair as she did, remembering she had made a mental note to stop and get coffee the previous day, but had still forgotten anyways.

"It's okay. But I really didn't feel like going all the way to the store so I took the lazy route." Paige said with a smile, taking another drink from her to-go coffee before handing Emily one.

"Thank you." Emily took the cup from Paige's hand eagerly before taking a tentative sip from the warm liquid.

"I got some bagels and a few donuts also."

Pressing a kiss to the top of Emily's head, Paige removed her arm from around her waist, turning on her heels slightly to grab some plates from the cabinet behind her.

"Which do you want?"

"Um, definitely a bagel." Emily answered, digging into the bag on the counter and she licked her lips in anticipation as she reached inside, pulling out a white, heavily sprinkled, long john donut from the bag instead of a bagel.

Paige merely rolled her eyes at the sight, already knowing that Emily was going to go for the donut even though she had said otherwise.

"You always do that." Paige chuckled, handing Emily a plate before grabbing out another one for herself.

"Well you just had to go and get the sprinkles didn't you?" Emily spoke with a mock irritation, her smile proving that she was anything but upset as she took a bite from the fluffy donut.

"Cause you like those ones."

Emily didn't respond but instead took another bite, her cheeks puffing out slightly as she smiled around her mouthful of food as she leaned back against the island. Paige just smiled in return, reaching into the bag for the blueberry bagel and cream cheese. Laying her bagel out, she grabbed a knife from the drawer below her, cutting open the bagel before evenly spreading out a pack of the topping onto each half.

"What time do you have to go in today?" Paige asked, taking a bite from her breakfast as she turned her body until her back was leaning against the fridge across from Emily who was still leaning against the counter top. It was just about after eight in the morning and Paige knew that on Wednesdays Emily usually had a busy work day.

After working her first year as a physical therapist assistant, Emily had completely fallen in love with the job and had decided not to follow through with her original plan to go back to school in order to become a physical therapist herself. She loved the work she got to do, especially the interaction she had with the patients as it was already, and saw no reason to change anything, something that Paige had supported her wife on fully after Emily had completely made up and her mind and brought the idea to Paige.

"About an hour. Dr. Milli's has a full book today and he wanted me to come in later so I'm probably going to be home a little late." Emily answered as she finished off her breakfast, having already been through her schedule in her head a few times since she had woken up an hour ago. She had already showered and managed to get herself halfway ready, knowing she still had plenty of time to get to work, only stopping when she had heard Paige come back with Finn.

Paige wasn't surprised about the late shift, knowing Emily usually had one night a week, sometimes two, that she had to work past her normal 5:30 hour. It was tough sometimes, especially when those busy days landed on the days that Paige was working, which thankfully today was not one of those days, but they dealt with it. Of course it was difficult on the nights days when Paige was home as well, as it limited the time they got to spend together.

"That's okay. I can go to the store later on and get us something for dinner and whatever else we need." Paige said, finishing off the last of her bagel before downing the rest of her coffee as well.

"Okay. Whatever sounds good to you is fine with me." Emily said, wiping her hands on a napkin that was sitting on the counter before stepping closer towards Paige, wrapping her arms around her torso as she pressed her body as close as she could to her wife's.

Paige smiled feeling Emily's grip on her, moving her own arms around Emily's body, letting her hands run along her back and ass.

"Thanks for breakfast." Emily said, planting a firm kiss to Paige's lips and momentarily tightened her hold on her waist. She could feel Paige's fingers slowly starting to push by the waistband of her sweats, teasing her fingertips against Emily's warm skin.

"You're welcome." Paige mumbled against Emily's lips, kissing her again properly afterwards, taking advantage of her position in front of Emily as she moved her back until she was firmly pinned between the island counter and her own body, her mind solely focused on the feeling of Emily's smooth skin against her fingertips as she lightly squeezed Emily's ass, pulling her towards herself at the same time as their kiss quickly intensified.

Smiling at her wife's actions, Emily broke the kiss between them briefly, sucking in a breath through her teeth as her hands moved from around the trainer's waist and slid up to her shoulders before settling around her neck. Paige swiped her tongue across her bottom lip, tasting the frosting from Emily's donut on her mouth now. Letting her head fall softly onto Emily's shoulder, Paige smiled to herself as she felt Emily's fingers tickling the back of her neck.

"What do you think you're trying to do?" Emily asked with a small laugh as she pressed a lingering kiss to Paige's cheek.

"I don't know what you mean." Paige responded, turning her head as she started to press a series of small kisses to Emily's neck.

"I'm just saying good morning."

"Oh, is that what you're doing?" Emily laughed softly into Paige's ear, seeing goosebumps rise up around her skin when she did, clearly not believing her wife's explanation at all.

"Mhm." Paige nodded, lifting her head back up and she smiled down at Emily, brushing away a stray hair from her face and tucked it swiftly behind her ear.

"Why?" Paige asked with a lazy shrug, trying to contain the smile creeping up onto her lips. "What did you think I was doing?"

Emily just laughed in response to Paige's answer and her attempt to hide the cheeky grin from her lips, which she was failing at from Emily's point of view. "You're so full of it, McCullers."

"You love it." Paige shot back, her smile taking over her face now as she stopped holding back.

"You're right. I do." Emily admitted with a grin of her own.

"More than when I feel you up?"

"So that is what you were doing." Emily pointed a finger at her, although the fact that Paige's hands were still firmly attached to her ass was a pretty clear answer in itself.

"How else am I supposed to say good morning?" Paige asked with a far too serious expression that had Emily laughing again.

Shaking her head momentarily as her laughter wore off, Emily smiled up at Paige and pulled in her close by her neck.

"You're so fucking cute." Emily said suddenly, kissing the spot beneath Paige's chin before pecking her lips as well.

"Think so?" Paige questioned, her hands finally sliding away from Emily's bottom and up her back in attempt to bring her in closer.

"Very much." Emily nodded as she leaned in and kissed Paige's lips once more.

"Yeah. You are definitely one extremely, unbelievably and painfully cute human being."

"You're pretty cute yourself. Although you're far more sexy then you are cute, I do have to say, but I'll give you cute as well."

"How sweet of you."

Paige smiled, leaning in for another kiss, stopping short of Emily's lips when she heard a tiny, still very sleepy, voice speak out from the hall.

"Mama?"

"We're right here, baby." Emily called out, her eyes quickly turning towards the hall the same as Paige's had when she heard the voice.

"Speaking of cute." Paige said, her eyes shining brightly as she laid eyes on her daughter for the first time that morning. Well, she had checked on her before she left with Finn earlier but the three year old had been sound asleep at the time.

"Mommy." The small child smiled sleepily at Paige, her arms reaching up for her mother as she crossed the threshold into the kitchen with Finn closing by her side, his body just inching over the height of the child beside him.

"Addie Jay."

Paige kissed the top of Emily's head as she released her hold on her, reaching down to lift Addie into her arms easily, feeling tiny hands wrap around her neck as far as they could, her daughter's embrace filling her heart with something that she still couldn't quite describe even after all this time. It was like nothing else in the world.

"There's my girl. Good morning."

"Hi, mommy."Addie's voice was laced with sleep and her eyes were still working on being completely open, but her smile was wide as she planted a sloppy kiss to Paige's cheek, making Paige's grin only widen as she took in the sight of her daughter. Her zoo themed footie pajamas were well wrinkled, her hair tousled in a way that reminded Paige so much of Emily's in the morning, and her favorite stuffed purple elephant, properly named Trumpet by the three year old, was clutched tight between her tiny fingers.

"Why are you up so early?"

"She's been waking up early for the past few days now. She got up about a half hour ago and came looking for us. She fell back asleep in our bed." Emily explained to Paige as she tried, without much success, to straighten out Addie's tangled hair.

"Oh yeah?" Paige asked, pulling her head back slightly so she could get a better look at her daughter's face that was buried into her shoulder.

"I guessed I wasn't ready to be up yet." Addie shrugged, her eyes turning to her mama when she heard Emily laugh.

"No, you must've still been tired." Paige said, a small laugh escaping her lips as well. Addie spoke well for her age, but there were still times like just now that made Paige and Emily laugh because she was just the definition of cuteness and she wasn't even trying.

"Are you hungry?" Paige asked her and received a silent nod in response.

"Mommy got donuts."

Addie gasped seriously and dramatically when she heard Emily's words, her eyes suddenly open as wide as saucers as she looked around to see where exactly the donuts were.

"Sprinkles?"

"Yes, yes. There's sprinkles." Paige answered, grabbing a plate from the cabinet while Emily got the donut from the bag for Addie.

Handing the plate over to Emily, Paige smiled looking at the two of them while shaking her head from side to side slightly.

"You and your mama with the sprinkles." Paige chuckled, adjusting Addie on her hip slightly as she went to the fridge to get something to drink for the toddler.

"They're delicious, okay?" Emily tossed in, her eyes following her wife's every move as she watched her and Addie interact. It was Emily's favorite thing. Seeing the two of them together and watching them as they talked to themselves and got lost in their own little world together.

"Do you want a chocolate donut or a vanilla one, Ad?" Emily asked, pretty sure she knew what Addie would say, but it was still better to ask.

"Chocolate!" Addie answered, her eyes glued to the donut that she watched her mama take from the bag. Oh, it was going to be good.

"Milk or juice?"

"Ummmmm..." Addie stopped in her tracks as her eyes started moving from side to side as she tapped her tiny index finger against her chin, as if in deep thought on what she wanted to drink.

"Juice. Please." The tiny brunette finally answered, Paige smiling as the please came out sounding like 'peas'.

"Okay."

Paige grabbed the juice from the fridge, handing it over to Emily who had already grabbed Addie's cup from the cabinet. The two worked smoothly and swiftly together, a perfect routine now made between them. Walking around the counter and to the chairs set up at the island, Paige sat Addie down in her chair while Emily placed her breakfast in front of her.

"Here you go, munchkin." Paige said, kissing the top of Addie's head as she scooted her chair up closer to the island.

"Thank you." Addie said as her hands reaching for the donut eagerly before taking a bite as big as her mouth would allow.

"Is it good?"

"Mmmm!" Was the only response Addie gave to Emily. Her mind was completely focused on her breakfast and taking another bite of the sweet treat, frosting already covering her mouth and fingers but she didn't care in the slightest.

Paige stood by quietly for a moment, just watching Addie with a smile grin before turning her attention back to Emily, her hand reaching out to touch her hip, tugging her in close to her own body while she pressed a lingering kiss to her cheek.

"I got her. You can go finish getting ready."

"Yeah, I need to." Emily said with a short sigh as she saw the time. She still had plenty of time before she was due to the office, but she needed to get going.

"Go ahead."

Emily nodded, lifting her head to kiss Paige once more before leaning over to kiss Addie's cheek before she walked down the hallway towards her and Paige's bedroom.

Watching Emily until she was out of sight, Paige turned her eyes towards her daughter who was nearly finished with her donut, her tiny chocolate covered fingers wrapped around her cup as she chugged her juice. Reaching her hand out, Paige rubbed the little girls back slightly as she sat down in the seat beside her.

"So, what do you want do today Addie girl?" Paige asked as she turned in her seat so she was facing her daughter.

As Addie had gotten older Paige and Emily had worked their schedules around one another as best they could to ensure one of them could be home with her as they weren't comfortable putting her into daycare or pre-k just yet. They were thinking perhaps the following year they would go with the pre-k route, but for now they each preferred to just have one of them be with her during the day if it was possible, which more times than not it was.

So three days of the week Addie would spend the majority of the day with Paige, as her schedule was far more flexible, and two would be with Emily, and the other two days were spent with them both equally as well as every night of the week after they both arrived home. It was a tough adjustment in the beginning, especially for Emily considering she had taken nearly six months off after Addie was born to be with her, but after time passed it had proven to be the best decision for them.

Of course though, it didn't always pan out the way they wanted it to. If for whatever reason things didn't work out or something unplanned suddenly came up or Emily and Paige decided to have an afternoon or evening to themselves to catch up with one another, Addie was always welcomed at her Aunt Reese's house or her grandparents homes.

Shortly before Addie was born, Wayne and Pam had made the move to California after Wayne had been able to lock down a job on a base in California, which was something that Emily and Pam, as well as Paige, had been more than happy to hear about. He still had to live at the barracks in San Fransisco, but at least he was stateside and just a measly hour drive from his family, which he could come and visit whenever he wanted to or vice versa.

Paige's parents on the other hand had already been living in California since she had moved her senior year, living just a thirty minute drive from the couple after Paige and Emily had moved into the new place over six years prior. It was absolutely welcomed and a great relief knowing that both of their parents were so close by instead of states away if they did need them. However, today would be one of the days that Addie was with Paige for the day while Emily went to work and then they would all spend the evening together later on when she got home.

"Ummmm..." Addie kicked her feet slightly, her head turning from side to side as she tried to think of something she wanted to do. It took a few seconds for her to decide, her eyes lighting up when the idea came to mind.

"Park!"

"You want to go to the park?" Paige asked with a wide smile, her eyes turning to the windows in the living room for a moment. It was a nice day for the park and it had been a few weeks since they had gone there.

"Yeah! Can we swing?" Addie asked hopefully. She loved the swings more than anything else at the park. She could swing for an entire hour and never get bored. Except for the tire swing, she did not like tire swing. Paige had learned that the hard way one day. The regular swings were all full so Paige had pointed out the tire swing hanging empty across the park, which Addie had been excited about at first, but after she got on it she hadn't cared for it one bit, not enjoying the circular motion at all, which became apparent when the lunch she had just eaten an hour before ended up all over Paige's clothing and shoes.

To this day, they hadn't re-attempted the tire swing.

"Sure we can."

"Yay!" Addie pumped one fist in the air, her whole tiny body wiggling in excitement in her seat.

"But first we need to get you cleaned up." Paige said with a small chuckle as she reached for the napkin beside her, leaning over to wipe off Addie's face and hands.

"Are you all finished with your donut?"

"Yes." Addie nodded as she stuffed her final bite into her mouth.

"Okay. Finish your juice and then we can start to get ready okay? We'll walk out with mama when she leaves for work." Paige explained as she took away the plate that was in front of Addie.

"Mama not coming with us?" Addie asked with a small frown as she sipped her juice. It was hard for her to understand why her parents weren't together all the time.

"Not today, baby. She has to go to work but maybe this weekend when mama doesn't work we can go to the park again so she can come with us, okay?" Paige offered up, knowing that Addie didn't always like doing things with just one of her parents, feeling like one of them was being left out, which Paige and Emily thought was very sweet but they each knew that wasn't the case even if Addie didn't.

"Okay, mommy." Addie nodded, finishing her juice up with a final sip from the cup. When she was finished she held her arms out for Paige, waiting for her mother to lift her up from her seat.

"Oh, you're getting big." Paige groaned playfully as she lifted Addie up and set her down onto her feet.

"Go brush your teeth okay? You can pick out the clothes you want to wear afterwards."

"Okay! Come on, Finn." Addie gripped Trumpet tightly in her hand as she called for the much bigger puppy, Finn nearly as tall as Paige's knees now as he trotted by her and followed the small girl to the bathroom.

Paige cleaned up the few dishes in the sink before heading off towards her and Emily's bedroom finding Emily standing in front the mirror half dressed in her work clothes, her shirt still off but her bra on as well as her signature black slacks that she always wore, with a curling iron in her hand as she finished doing her hair.

"Hey." Emily smiled at her through the mirror, her lips widening slightly as Paige approached her from behind and wrapped her arms around her waist, her fingertips dancing across her toned stomach as they locked eyes in the mirror.

"You sure you want to go to work today?" Paige asked with a grin, her head turning slightly as she started pressing lingering kisses along her neck and towards her cheek.

"Ummm, no. But I have to." Emily responded, trying her best to ignore the dip in her stomach from the feeling of Paige's hands and lips against her skin. "Where's Addie?"

"She's brushing her teeth and then getting changed."

"Well just make sure she doesn't try to wear the same outfit as yesterday. I caught her pulling dirty clothes out of the laundry again a couple of days ago."

Paige laughed against Emily's shoulder, shaking her head slightly as she remembered the time she herself had also caught her daughter snooping through the laundry baskets for a specific shirt that she for some reason needed to wear again before it had a chance to be washed. So far they hadn't really been able to explain that whole process of clothes being dirty and needing to be cleaned of their chocolate pudding stains before they get worn again to Addie in a way that she fully understood, but they were working on it.

"She's so cute." Was all Paige could manage to say, her smile taking over her face as she said it.

"Yeah. She's also very clever so just make sure she hasn't gone basket diving again."

"Will do." Paige nodded, giving Emily's body a tight, momentary squeeze before she kissed her neck once more, releasing her arms from around her so she could finish getting ready.

"What are you planning for today?" Emily asked as she watched Paige move around the room through the mirror. Paige walked to the closet and grabbed out a long sleeve black shirt to throw over her white t-shirt she was currently wearing.

"Addie wants to go to the park so I thought we could do that for a few hours and then we will probably go to the grocery store. By the time we get done with that she'll probably be ready to crash so I'll do a little bit of work while she naps and get something going for dinner. Is there anything specific you want?"

"Not really, just get whatever sounds good to you. Hopefully I won't be home that late and I can help you make something."

Emily didn't like putting at the of the burden onto Paige when it came to their home life, whether it be cooking each night, keeping up with the laundry or dishes or whatever else needed to be taken care of. The problem was her job was slightly more demanding than Paige's in terms of her work hours. Paige for the most part had a set schedule for her training, only changing it when she got a new client or perhaps lost one, but for the most part her days of work were the same hours each day, whereas Emily's changed from day to day sometimes due to the fact that as of the last year she didn't make the schedule for the patients any longer.

"If not it's okay. I can handle it." Paige said with a smile as she stepped up behind Emily once again, leaning one arm on the dresser and the other on Emily's back.

"I know you can, Paige. I just want to be here to help more is all."

There was no doubt in Emily's mind at all that Paige could handle it all. She had been nothing short of fantastic from day one of it all.

"I know you do, Em. Maybe you should take a little time off? You've been working so much lately. It'd be good for you to take a little time for yourself. Plus, Addie would love it."

"And what about you?"

"Well, I suppose I wouldn't mind it." Paige shrugged indifferently, but the smile on her face told a different story of course. Emily truly hadn't taken time off since she had gone back to work after her maternity leave, at least not more than a day or two at a time. In truth, it wouldn't be a bad idea for her to take some time for herself, and her girls of course.

"I'll think about it. See what Dr. Milli's says." Emily said after thinking about it for a second. It really did sound nice.

"That's all I ask."

"Mommy!"

Both of them turned towards the sound of Addie's voice, which sounded like it was coming from the bathroom.

"Coming!" Paige called back, turning back to Emily to give her a quick kiss before she stepped away from her and walked out of the room to help Addie.

Emily stood at the mirror for a moment longer by herself, a smile covering her lips as she heard a sudden shriek of laughter coming from Addie a few moments later, followed by the sound of Paige's ridiculous impression of an elephant call. She swore one of these days Paige was going to blow out an eardrum or something by doing that, but Addie loved it and the trainer was no match for the three year old when it came to telling her 'no' just yet.

Paige was the definition of perfect when it came to taking care of their daughter. From day one she had been completely and utterly devoted to the little girl. Everything she did, every decision she made was with her family in mind. Of course Emily was the exact same, but she couldn't see herself with Addie like she could see Paige with her. Addie completely adored Paige, and of course Paige was completely head over heels with the little girl as well.

Sometimes Emily wasn't even sure how they had got this far. How they went from barely making it through high school to being married with a toddler. How they had managed to overcome so much, but they had and it was all so completely worth it.

After they had got engaged the two of them had decided from the beginning that they didn't want a huge wedding of any kind. In fact Emily had even suggested they just go off and elope somewhere, but they decided against that when they both thought of the wrath's of their mothers. Neither of them wanted to face that. So instead they planned a very small, very intimate wedding that would just focus on them and nothing else. They decided against bridesmaids or best ladies or whatever people referred to them as, instead just wanting to be at the alter by themselves. At first they thought about having the traditional church ceremony, but then Emily had suggested a beach one instead. It seemed a bit cliche at first, but one night while they were taking a walk they had reached a particular spot on the sand that just stood out to Emily. She didn't know what it was, but something drew her to the spot and they decided then that the spot would be where they would say 'I do'.

They planned the wedding from then on, sending out the invitations to family and friends, something Emily was very excited about once they were officially out in the mailbox, especially when she got the confirmation that Spencer, Hanna and Aria would be attending. Of course she guessed they would all come, even if they weren't quite as close as they had been before she moved, she knew her friends would never miss her wedding day. And they didn't. When the big day came six months after Paige proposed, her friends were sitting front row beside Wayne, Pam and Paige's mother Jennifer as Nick McCullers officiated the ceremony between Paige and Emily, something that had been unexpected but in the end made the entire thing that much more special. Nick had been surprised when Paige had asked him to do it, and Emily was even more surprised when she had suggested it, but he was happy she did and he felt honored to do it.

The two of them dressed in white for the big day, Emily in a less traditional and a more summery, but still very beautiful long white dress, while Paige wore khaki colored slacks and a long sleeved white button down shirt, both of their hair flowing in curls and their faces covered in the smallest amount of make-up.

Emily still felt like it had only been yesterday since it had all happened. She could still feel the wind blowing through her hair, the sand between her toes, and hear the sound of the waves crashing at their side. She could still picture the look on Paige's face when she spoke her vows and said 'I do'. It still managed to make her stomach flip when she thought about it all. It was without a doubt the best day of her life. Well, until Addie had come along.

It seemed as though, at least from Emily's point of view, that everyone had right away after they had been married started asking them when they were going to have children, more her mother than anybody else because you know, she wasn't getting any younger to be a grandmother. The truth was though that they weren't ready for that, not then at least. They had truly only discussed the whole idea of children two times before, briefly that is, the first time had been when Paige had proposed and suggested their future might not just be the two of them, and one other time after. They had both agreed that they wanted a family, but not yet.

The two of them decided they just wanted to just be married for a little bit and enjoy one another by themselves, and given that two women couldn't just magically get pregnant or have an 'oops' moment or something along those lines they didn't have to worry about it, which was a good thing cause if Emily thought about it long enough she was sure they'd have far more than just one child at this point if it was possible for them to have children without assistance.

So the first two years after the got married they just lived their lives as they wanted to. With trips and vacations traveling around the world at times when they had the extra money and time to do so. They had gone to Vienna for their honeymoon and it had by far been the most amazing experience they could have asked for, both of them had thanked Hanna endlessly for the suggestion and hook ups she had given them for the trip. They had also traveled to Spain the following year. They spent weekends away in cabins and under the stars, took road trips to nearby cities and just took in each and every moment they spent together as newlyweds.

The last place they had visited was Costa Rica, which had been a week vacation spent with their parents on a three day cruise ship and then a four night stay at a hotel on Cocos Island. It was on that trip that Emily had realized she might be ready to finally start thinking about the possibility of having a kid. It had happened all of the sudden as she was standing on the balcony of their hotel room, the sound of the shower ringing in her ears as Paige cleaned up for dinner that evening. On the beach not far from her vision Emily could see a little family, just a mother and a little boy walking together through the sand. The little boy was laughing, the sound echoing in the quiet sunset of the beach, the sound making Emily smile as she watched the woman chase after the little boy as he jumped high and splashed into the water that covered the sand from tide. Emily didn't know what it was but all the sudden she imagined herself on that beach, walking hand in hand with Paige with a child of their own and it was something she couldn't stop thinking about for the final three days of their trip.

It had been a long discussion between her and Paige when they returned home, figuring out how they would go about the entire thing once Emily was sure Paige really did want to go through it as well and wasn't just doing it for Emily, but of course Paige had assured Emily that she indeed had been thinking about it herself. The only question now was how. Did they want to adopt? Did they want to have a surrogate or did one of them want to have a baby themselves? Paige admittedly did want to have a child, but the idea of having one herself from her own body wasn't something she was sure she was ready to do, or ever do truly. But Emily did. So they went that route.

In the end it took a nearly six months of going through the entire process of finding the right donor and filling out paperwork and putting money aside before they were even ready to try. After three anxiety packed attempts, Emily was pregnant. The positive test in her hand had thrown her for a bit of a loop as a surreal feeling settled over her and suddenly Emily felt as if her whole world was about to change, which of course it was and it did. From the start she had been sure, just so sure that Paige would be the nervous one between them, which she was, but Emily was far worse. Paige had somehow been extremely calm throughout the entire pregnancy, although there were times Emily found herself wishing Paige would let up a bit, but she knew that she was lucky to have her so she made sure not to complain to much.

There was no going back now and with every sonogram they received and heartbeat they heard, Emily became more and more frightened. She was of course mostly worried about her ability to be a mother, something that not only Paige but her friends and family assured her she would be amazing at, but it was more than that.

At some point during the pregnancy Emily realized where all of her fear was coming from. It wasn't for herself really or her abilities as a parent or whether or not she would be able to love and care for their child, but for their child and how they would feel about her. She began to worry what their baby would think of her, of them.

At that point in her life and for years before that she had stopped caring what people thought of her, of her life and the way she lived it. She didn't care what people thought of her relationship with Paige, their marriage or the life they had. They could keep their opinions, worries and bible verses to themselves for all she cared. However, she did worry about what their child would think. Would they understand? Would they someday hate her, or even both of them, for not giving them the 'traditional' family life with a father? Emily knew it was ludicrous deep down and she knew well enough from her friends histories with their fathers that none of that actually mattered. It wasn't the gender of the parents that mattered, but how they raised their child and Emily knew that she and especially Paige, would do everything to make sure their child was taken care of and happy in every single way. Paige had told her the same exact thing when she confided in her about her fears. Paige had told her that two loving parents were just that and that's exactly what they were going to be no matter what. Their baby wouldn't know any different than them as their parents and if one day in the future something came up they would deal with it then. Emily knew she was right, but she did still worry and hope that moment would never come, but until it came up she pushed the fear away and just focused on preparing for their baby to come.

And then it was all over in a blink of an eye. Just two days shy of nine months and after nearly nineteen hours in labor, their baby entered the world and every single worry, doubt and bad thought Emily had ever had vanished the moment she held Addie in her arms for the first time with Paige sitting beside her, both of them crying tears of happiness as Adeline Jaymes McCullers let out her very first cry. Paige had come up with the name. They had been stuck for so long trying to come up with something after they had found out they were having a girl, something that they were both equally excited and anxious about, but finding a name was something that turned out to be far more difficult then they would have imagined.

One morning Paige had woken up and the name just popped right out of her mouth. She had no idea where it had come from but right away they had both loved it. Emily had picked out Addie's middle name which was her mother's maiden name. Paige had loved it right away. The last name had been a bit more difficult though. Before they had got married, Reese had asked if one of them was going to take the others name, taking both of them off guard slightly as they had never discussed it before, or even really thought about it. Did they have to change their names? Maybe they could combine them or do some sort of hyphen? When neither of them could come to an agreement, Emily not wanting Paige to have to give up her name, and vice versa, they decided they would just leave their names as they were for the time being. All that mattered was the fact that they got married, nothing else.

That changed when Addie was born though. Emily knew from the beginning that she wanted their daughters last name to be McCullers. It felt like the best decision because even though Paige was well aware that Addie was just as much hers even though she had no blood connection to her, Emily knew that Paige still wished there was some kind of connection between them, so Addie being a McCullers seemed to be the perfect way to create that not only for Paige but for Addie as well, and Paige was more than willing to say yes to that.

It was then, as Emily was getting ready to sign the birth certificate for their daughter that she suddenly felt out of place. Paige McCullers was listed as Adeline McCullers parent, which was amazing, but as she went to write Emily Fields on the second for the parents she suddenly longed for the same connection that Addie had to Paige. After they returned home from the hospital Emily told Paige that she wanted to change her name. Paige had at first been surprised, but once Emily explained the reasoning she agreed it wouldn't be such a bad thing. She just didn't want Emily to have to give up who she was, but the truth was that Emily felt more like herself once the papers had been signed and her name was officially Emily McCullers. They were all connected now and Emily felt closer to not to both of them once it was finished.

Time seemed to fly after that. Before Emily knew it Addie was crawling, walking and talking all at once. It broke her heart and warmed it all at the same time as she grew each and every day, learning and discovering new things. Addie was absolutely the greatest thing that had ever happened to her. Her life with Paige had been nothing short of a miracle to Emily. It wasn't always perfect of course, no marriage is and the two of them had each spent their share of nights on the couch or in the guest room, although the couch was the only option now that the guest room was Addie's bedroom.

Their fights usually lasted no longer then a night or two, except for one time which had been nearly a week of arguing and Emily actually leaving the apartment they had shared. It had started out after Emily had walked into the gym one day and saw one of Paige's clients getting just a little too close for her liking, and when she found out that the woman had been hitting on Paige for some time, without Paige telling her about it, she had been even more upset.

Paige didn't understand what the problem was at first, especially considering she wasn't entertaining any of the flirtation at all and had told the woman numerous times before that she wasn't interested. Of course, that hadn't helped her case much and in the end of it all Emily had lost her temper and had then outwardly questioned Paige on if there were other women, which had been the gasoline on the fire at that point. Emily ended up leaving the apartment for four nights, only returning when Reese forced her off of the couch and practically shoved her out the door so she would talk to her wife.

In the end of it all, Paige realized where she had made her mistake by not telling Emily about the woman hitting on her, and Emily also knew she was in the wrong when she basically accused Paige of being a serial cheater. Since then all of their squabbles had been quite tame, although they did still have their moments of course where they needed to take a few hours away from one another, but at the end of the day they both knew where they wanted to be.

They had come too far to give up over something stupid and Emily knew in her heart that they could get through anything now. Not only because they had so many times before, but mainly because Paige and Addie were her whole world. Everything in her life was about them, for them and just…them.

She would never give up on that. She would never give up on them, especially not with Addie in their lives now. Emily had known before their daughter was born that Paige was the one for her, but it was after having Addie that she realized just how much Paige meant to her. Watching the two of them together, seeing Paige take on every diaper change, tantrum, or just simply sitting on the floor rolling around with Addie had made Emily fall for her that much more. Of course those are all those things that a parent, that a mother should do but Emily knew it wasn't quite that simple and the fact that she had been lucky enough to have Paige want to be apart of all of those things was something not to take lightly.

She was beyond lucky in every single way. She had an amazing wife, a beautiful daughter and there was nothing else in the world that needed more than that.

* * *

It was already almost seven o'clock by the time Emily stepped off the elevator that evening as she returned from work. Her feet were killing her, her eyes were tired and she was on the verge of being starving. She had been completely shocked when she had seen how late it was a half an hour ago as she rushed to finish her work. There had been a full book of patients that day and it left her little to no time to catch up on the paper end of her work, which is why she was now nearly an hour late being home, although she had expected she would be a little late, just not this late. It happened rarely, but when it did it was hard for Emily to handle. It meant that she had very little time to spend with Addie before her eight o'clock bedtime and less alone time she got to spend with Paige.

But given the conversation she had with Paige as she was leaving the office, the two of them were just fine, as Emily expected of course. Paige had also informed her that Addie had napped for a longer period that day so maybe she could handle staying up just a little bit longer so Emily could spend some extra time with her before she was put to bed.

When Emily reached the door for their apartment she automatically quieted her movements, unsure if Addie had fallen asleep in the time that it had taken her to drive home. As she placed the key into the lock, she stopped her movements as she heard a small shriek of laughter come from the other side of the door, immediately recognizing it as Addie. Quickly turning the knob on the door, Emily let herself inside and was surprised to see the whole apartment nearly dark except for the small light that was on in the kitchen above the sink. Emily heard small giggles once again as she placed her bag and coat down beside the door and walked further into the apartment.

As she got down the main hallway, her eyes widened slightly at the state of their living room. Sheets and blankets, nearly every single one they owned it appeared, were draped across the room in different angles and were being held down by various heavy objects around the room. The coffee table had been moved from it's spot in the middle of the area rug and was instead pushed against the wall near the couch, along with two of the other chairs that usually sat in the opposite corners of the room.

"Hello?" Emily called out, her voice slightly uneasy as she took in the massive hut that had been built in the middle of the room, where she could see what looked like a flashlight glow buzzing around inside.

"Mama?!" Addie's voice yelled out excitedly and Emily heard a small stumble from inside the blanket mound before suddenly her daughter's head shot out from the front of it, a ridiculously large grin covering her face as she saw her.

"Mama!"

Addie scrambled to her feet at the sight of Emily and in a matter of seconds she found herself curled up in her mother's arms.

"Hi, my baby." Emily squeezed the little girl's body to her, covering her tiny face in as many kisses as she could.

"Look! Mommy builded a fort! Did you see it?"

"I do see it. It's very…big." Emily struggled to find a word, but she felt she had picked a good one to describe it. It was massive to say the least, nearly taking up the majority of the living room.

"It's really, really big!"

"Yeah it is. Where's mommy?" Emily asked as she readjusted Addie's body on her hip, reaching her fingers out to brush the dark curls away from her face.

Before Addie could answer, Emily heard Paige's voice come from the direction of the tent, Emily unable to stop the laughter that escaped her throat as Paige's head shot out of the fort in front of her.

"Right here." Paige said, sounding nearly out of breath as she spoke and gave a small wave to her wife. The smile of her face was incredibly similar to the one that Addie had been displaying moments ago as she had first come out from the tent.

"Yeah, we've been playing! Come on mama. You gotta see it!" Addie insisted as she scrambled her way out of Emily's arms and began tugging on her hand towards the fort.

"Okay, okay." Emily smiled and allowed herself to be dragged over to the opening of the fort where Paige had gone back inside.

Emily watched as Addie got done on all fours and crawled inside the fort before she mirrored her actions and followed the three year old inside.

"Wow." Was all Emily could say as she reached the middle of the blanket fort. It was surprisingly big inside, big enough for at least five or six people. Paige had set it up so the TV was inside with Addie's favorite cartoon playing on the screen, and she had hung up an old string of Christmas lights inside so it was nice and bright inside. Pillows were scattered all over the place with Paige and Emily's old comforter covering the floor so it was nice and comfortable. Finn was apparently enjoying it as well as he was snoring loudly in the corner of the blanketed area.

"Isn't it cool, mama?" Addie asked as she threw herself back down into the spot she had been lying in earlier before Emily had come home, reaching for the large bowl of popcorn that was next to her before grabbing as much in her little hand as she could.

"It is very cool." Emily agreed as she sat down next to Paige, giving her a silent look in which Paige responded with a big smile.

"Hi, honey." Paige said, dragging out the 'honey' part a little in a bid to gauge Emily's reaction to what she had done, hoping she wasn't too upset.

Emily couldn't help but snicker at the term of endearment, which she knew was only being used in attempt to try and butter her up considering it was extremely rare that the two of them used terms like that otherwise.

"Hi." Emily smiled, leaning over the small distance to place a lingering kiss to Paige's cheek to let her know she wasn't upset at all. When she saw the wide smile on Paige's face a moment later she knew she had got her message across.

"I'm sorry I'm so late." Emily said as she let her body mold back into Paige's, her eyes closing as she felt her wife's arms around her waist and her lips press against her neck.

"It's okay. We kept ourselves busy." Paige said with a smile a she looked over at Addie who was deeply engrossed in the popcorn and tv show playing in front of her.

"I see that." Emily nodded, her eyes looking around the fort once again.

"Mommy?"

"Hm?" Paige looked to Addie who was suddenly up on her feet, a slight dance in her step as she got up that both Emily and Paige recognized right away.

"I have to potty."

"Okay. Go ahead." Paige nodded her head quickly, watching as her daughter quickly moved from her spot to and out of the tent.

"Don't forget to wash your hands, Ad!"

"Okay, mama!" Addie yelled back to Emily before they heard the sound of the bathroom door closing.

"Hi." Paige said again, her eyes looking for Emily's as her wife turned to look at her.

"Hey, beautiful." Emily smiled, leaning in the short distance to Paige's lips to greet her properly. Emily hummed against Paige's lips as she kissed her slowly, the kiss turning into small pecks after a few moments.

"So….a blanket fort, huh?" Emily asked, trying to hide her smirk as she ran her fingers along the length of Paige's cheek and down her chin.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't say no to her. " Paige whined slightly as she buried her head into Emily's shoulder.

"We went to the park and then the grocery store. We ate our lunch and then she took about an hour nap. When she woke up she asked if we could build a fort like they do on the cartoon and she was just so excited about it and I just couldn't say no." Paige explained quickly, looking to Emily with an innocent grin. "You're not mad, right?"

"No. Of course I'm not mad." Emily laughed. "I mean as long as we still have sheets on our beds."

"Yeah, we do. I left those alone. I told Addie we have to clean it up tomorrow and she said okay."

"It's actually pretty cool."

Emily had to admit that Paige had done a nice job on the fort and Addie seemed to really love the whole thing, and with that in mind how could Emily even think about being upset?

"It is. I'm quite proud of myself for it actually. Addie did help though so I can't take all the credit. But it was actually a lot of fun putting it together. I never got to build one when I was little."

"Really?" Emily asked, a small frown on her face as she watched Paige shake her head from left to right in confirmation. She herself remembered multiple times that she and her parents, sometimes just with one or the other and sometimes with both of them, spent many nights in a fort in her bedroom or the living room. "Why not?"

"I don't know. My parents weren't exactly into stuff like that. I mean I love them and all but they just…they were different. I pretty much just entertained myself for the most part when I was little. Plus I got into sports pretty early on and that took up any free time I had."

"Oh." Emily felt her heart sink a little at the bit of information. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. But that's why I just want to make sure I do all this stuff with Addie, you know?. I don't ever want her to feel like I wasn't around to play or take her to the park or do the things she wants to do. I just want to be better." Paige admitted somewhat shyly, unable to meet Emily's gaze as she spoke.

Emily could feel her heart warming at Paige's words, knowing just how much she meant them and Emily had no doubts that she would keep true to them. Reaching her hand out, Emily grazed her fingertips against Paige's chin, lifting it up slightly until their eyes met finally.

"You are my favorite person in the world, you know that?"

"I am?" A grin rose onto Paige's lips as she asked, her eyes lighting up slightly as she hugged Emily's body closer to her own as she felt her heartbeat pick up speed. Sometimes Emily had a way of making her feel like she was seventeen all over again.

"Yeah. You really, really are and I love you very much."

"I love you, Em."

Using her slight grip on Paige's chin, Emily tugged her gently towards her until their lips met in a sweet, lingering kiss that left Paige feeling lightheaded and wanting more. Emily smiled at the dazed look on Paige's face, pressing several quick pecks to her lips.

"How was work?" Paige asked once she was able to shake the clouds from her brain.

"Ugh. It was so busy and I don't even know how it got so late. I swear I don't know where the time went."

"Did you have a chance to talk to Dr. Mills about maybe taking some time off?"

Emily frowned at the question, a small sigh escaping her lips as she shook her head from side to side. "Shit. No, I didn't get a chance to. But I really think I'm going to. I could use a week or two off."

"Yes, you could." Paige agreed, not only because she herself was hoping for Emily to have some time off but also because she knew that her wife did really need it.

"What about you? You going to take some too? Maybe we could do a little vacation together."

"I might be able to here soon. I've got some time saved up." Paige answered after thinking about it for a moment. "After you talk to the Doc I'll see when I can get away and work my schedule out to get my clients covered for the time."

"Okay." Emily nodded, letting her head fall back against Paige's shoulder as she closed her eyes and just enjoyed a moment of silence between the two of them, although it didn't last too long as the sound of tiny feet against the hardwood was heard moments later, Addie's head popping into the tent soon after.

"Mommy, can I have my shake now?"

"Shake?" Emily asked, eyeballing Paige as her wife scratched the back of her head with a smile.

"Yeah…we got ice cream after dinner." Was the explanation that Paige gave as Addie walked into the tent and sat down in front of her parents, slightly bouncing in her spot in hopes that she could have her treat soon.

"Oh, you did?"

"I got you a blizzard. Double fudge cookie dough." Paige said with a grin as she pressed a kiss to her cheek.

"Oh, you did?" Emily repeated as she licked her lips. She was more hungry now than ever and the sound of the delicious ice cream was unbelievably tempting, which was made clear a few seconds later when her stomach let out a loud rumble.

"Hungry?" Paige asked with a small smirk as she patted Emily's tummy lightly, smiling at Addie when she heard the little girl giggling in her spot.

"That was loud mama." Addie covered her mouth with her tiny hands as she tried to stop her laughter, but she couldn't help herself.

"Well, I suppose I should eat some real food first."

"We made hamburgers and homemade fries." Paige told her, knowing it was one of the trio's favorite dishes to have.

"Oh. Now that sounds good." Emily moaned slightly, licking her lips at the thought of Paige's homemade fries. Emily herself had quite improved in the kitchen in the last handful of years, but Paige still seemed to have a slight edge over her in the food department.

"Mommy let me mush the patties!" Addie told Emily with a big smile. She liked helping her mothers in the kitchen with whatever she could, although she wished everything wasn't always 'too hot', 'too sharp' or 'too high' for her. But she liked to help where she could.

"Yep. She did a perfect job." Paige said with a proud smile, something she felt silly about considering it was about hamburger patties but she didn't care. Everything Addie did made her proud, made her happy and feel like she had done her job for the day at being the best parent she could be.

"Yeah, I did. Mommy burned the cheese though." Addie said nonchalantly, causing Paige's mouth to drop while Emily attempted not to laugh at the innocent look on her daughters face even though she had just ratted out her mother.

"She did, huh?" Emily giggled herself, looking back at Paige momentarily and wasn't surprised to see her looking everywhere else.

"Yep. But we had more so it was okay. Finn gots it instead."

"I bet he enjoyed that."

"He eated it up like a pig!"

Pressing a kiss to Emily's cheek, Paige tightened her hold around her waist for a moment before she released her grip and scooted back away from her, reaching her arms out quickly as she snatched Addie up into her arms playfully and kissed her cheeks over and over again, Addie's laughter filling the room up as she squirmed around in Paige's arms.

"You funny little girl. Why don't you tell mama the rest of what we did today while I make her a plate huh? I'll get your shake and we can watch a little bit of your show before your bath?"

"Okay!"

Making a small show of it, Paige lifted Addie up high towards the top of the tent playfully before she 'crashed' the little girl down into Emily's lap.

"Oh, my big girl." Emily smiled as she hugged Addie close to her, smiling over at Paige as she watched her slip out of the tent quickly, her attention quickly turning back to Addie as she heard her start telling her about what she and Paige had done all day long.

* * *

Scrolling through the emails in her inbox, Paige got rid of the junk ones slowly as she read through all of the titles. She skimmed through the rest, seeing a couple from a few of her college friends that she was still in touch with, mostly girls from the swim team and a few work related ones as well. She took a few minutes to respond to each of them before closing out her email and pulling up her spreadsheet that she had been working on earlier that day when Addie had been napping. The toddler had just finished with her bath after Emily had eaten her dinner and they had watched one of Addie's programs. Afterwards they had given her a bath and put her to bed for the night, Paige and Emily staying with her until she had fallen asleep before they had quietly left her room, Paige going to living room desk, the only piece of furniture that wasn't moved for the blanket fort, to catch up on some of her work while Emily got changed and cleaned up for the night.

She quickly found herself getting lost in her work, her fingers across the keys quickly as she typed and scrolled through internet pages as her mind ran with dozens of thoughts. She was so engrossed in the work she was doing that she didn't hear Emily come back into the room, or walk into the kitchen behind her.

"You know you've been on that thing for a while now." Emily's voice suddenly broke through the train of thoughts running in Paige's mind.

She turned in her seat to look at Emily who was walking out of the kitchen towards her with her ice cream cup in her hand.

"If I didn't know any better I might think you were having an internet affair." Emily teased her, earning a laugh from Paige as she spun in her chair slightly so she was facing Emily.

"Gosh, you know if I only had the time." Paige shot back, a smirk on her face as Emily waved her spoon at her.

"Funny girl." Emily chided her playfully as she sat herself down onto Paige's lap, leaning back into her body when Paige wrapped her arm around her waist.

"Addie okay?" Paige asked as she dropped her head down on Emily's shoulder, closing her eyes momentarily as she took in the intoxicating milk and honey scent on her skin from her lotion.

"Yeah. I just checked on her again and she is completely out." Emily nodded as she took a bite from her ice cream.

"She should be. She ran around the park like an animal today. I don't know how she went on with just that hour nap."

"I don't know. She'll probably sleep later tomorrow."

"I hope so. I wouldn't mind sleeping in a little myself."

"Me either." Emily agreed, completely relieved that the following day was Saturday and there was nothing planned for them the following day. They could do whatever they wanted and be as lazy as they wanted. And each of them planned on doing just that.

"Thanks for dinner and my ice cream." Emily said as Paige lifted her head up and met Emily's eyes.

"You're welcome."

"Although you're probably going to have to stop now with the donuts and ice cream or else you're going to have to start training me full time too."

"Hey, I wouldn't mind that." Paige said with a cheeky grin. Although Paige was a trainer, Emily usually worked out a different gym just because she didn't want to interfere with Paige's work. So instead there would be days where the two of them would go running together or go to a yoga class or something like that while Paige wasn't working. Of course though there were times in the past and surely in the future where Emily would go to the gym and workout with Paige, which Paige enjoyed immensely.

"Yeah, I bet you wouldn't." Emily laughed. She knew exactly why Paige enjoyed the workout sessions they had.

Paige could feel her face getting flushed, the images of Emily in her tight tank top which showed off her taut stomach and leggings that hugged the curve of her ass and legs just right. The whole thing coming together with her hair falling and cleaning to the sweat on her face. Paige definitely enjoyed her job when Emily was in the gym with her. Being able to just stand back and watch Emily work herself up into a sweat was one of the biggest turn ons for her.

Emily could see the dazed look in Paige's eyes and knew exactly what she was most likely thinking about.

"Want a bite?" Emily offered Paige her spoon after scooping a spoonful onto the utensil, holding it out towards Paige's mouth. "Maybe cool yourself down a little?"

"Shut up." Paige laughed, shaking her head as she took the offered bite all the while trying to ignore the smug smirk on her wife's face. "Oh, man. That's really good."

"Way too good." Emily nodded as she put another spoonful into her own mouth.

"Want some more?"

Instead of answering yes or no, Paige just nodded her head and reached her hand up to grasp the back of Emily's neck before pulling her in close until their lips met. Emily was slightly taken back by the kiss, but it only took a second for her to melt into it, a groan slipping from the from the back of her throat as Paige pushed her tongue into her mouth, the ice cream that was still on Emily's tongue melting from the warmth between the two muscles.

"Way too good." Paige mimicked Emily's words as she broke the kiss, running her tongue across her own lips to savor the taste.

"Aren't you sly." Emily said as she tried to catch her breath, which was becoming more difficult as she felt Paige's fingertips creeping up underneath the back of her shirt and running across the skin just above the top of her sweats.

"What ever do you mean?" Paige questioned innocently, but the smile on her lips and the twinkle in her eye told a different story.

"Yeah. Uh-huh." Was all Emily said before she pulled Paige's lips back to her own for a passionate kiss. Paige smiled against Emily's lips, using her hold around Emily's body to pull her in closer to herself as she deepened the kiss. Feeling the cup in her hands ready to slip away, Emily blindly set it down on the desk behind Paige and used her now free hand to help maneuver herself on Paige's lap until she was no longer sitting sideways on her lap, but instead fully straddling her.

Wrapping her arms around Paige's neck, Emily ran her fingers up through Paige's hair before she settled her hands on Paige's cheeks in a bid to keep her close, tugging her in closer to own body as she pushed her tongue past Paige's lips. She could feel her head starting to feel fuzzy as their tongues brushed, her lungs starting to burn from the lack of oxygen, but she kept her lips against Paige's for a few moments longer before pulling away.

Breathing heavily, Paige licked her lips and bit back a groan as she felt Emily's hips starting to rock against her own.

"Fuck. Come here." Paige groaned as she moved her hands down to cup Emily's ass as she stood up on her feet, smiling at the feeling of Emily's legs around her back as she walked the short distance over to couch. Resting her knee on the leather, she carefully lowered Emily onto the cushions before resting her body down on top of her wife.

Gripping Paige's shoulders, Emily pulled Paige's body in closer to hers, even though there really was no physical way for her to get any closer. Paige shifted above her, her thigh sliding between Emily's legs and brushing against her center. A moan escaped Emily's lips as she broke their kiss, her chest slightly heaving as she tried to catch her breath, which was made even more difficult when Paige's started biting on her neck all the while her hands teased her breasts through her tank top. Arching her body up in attempt to get more friction, Emily tugged Paige's neck up towards her and pulled her lips back to her own for a deep kiss. Paige moaned against Emily's mouth as she let her hands roam all over her wife's body, moving from her chest to her ass to her neck until they finally landed back on her breasts, the thin material Emily's of tank top making it very easy to feel her nipples hardening beneath her touch.

"Oh, god." Emily's eyes squeezed shut as Paige pinched her nipple. Sucking in a short breath, Emily slid her hand down the front of Paige's body until she reached the waistband of her track pants. She had just edged her fingers passed it when she felt Paige completely still up above her. Opening her eyes, she saw Paige hovering above her with a conflicted look on her face.

"What's wrong?" Emily asked in confusion. She leaned her ear towards the hallway listening carefully in case Paige had heard Addie wake up, but Emily heard nothing.

"Paige?"

"You're…are you…shit." Paige huffed as she shook her head. She leaned up slightly on her knees, putting just a few inches of distance between herself and Emily.

"What is it?" Emily asked, fully concerned now as she watched a range of emotions pass of Paige's face.

"I just…you're into this aren't you?" Paige finally managed to get out, her face turning a slight shade of red as she did. She felt a mixture of anxiety and embarrassment at the question but there was a nagging in the back of her head and she just had to get it out.

"What?"

"You know…this." She attempted to explain further as she moved her hand between herself and Emily. "You're still into this with me and you, right?"

"Are you asking me if I'm still into having sex with you?" Emily questioned, still uncertain of what it was exactly that Paige was asking or why she suddenly felt the need to ask at this particular moment.

"….Maybe."

All Emily could manage to do at first was stare at her wife. The look on Paige's face telling her that she was in fact asking her that question and despite her best efforts not to…Emily found herself laughing.

Eyebrows raised, Paige stared at her wife in utter confusion as she laughed, her face falling slightly, which didn't go unnoticed by Emily at all.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I'm not laughing at you." Emily said seriously as she managed to subdue her laughter for a moment.

"But are you really asking me this now?" Emily asked back, confusion and amusement etched on her face as she did. "When my hand is literally halfway down your pants?"

Looking down between their bodies Paige saw that in fact Emily's hand was still on the inside of her track pants with her fingertips hovering just outside the fabric of her underwear. This time it was Paige who couldn't help but laugh.

"Paige." Emily spoke softly and waited for her wife to meet her gaze as she slipped her hand back out from inside of Paige's bottoms. "What's up? Where did that come from all the sudden?"

"I don't know." Paige answered with a sigh as she let her body fall slightly, hovering above Emily as she let her weight fall onto her hands at either side of Emily's body.

"It was just something Clay said today and-"

"Oh, god." Emily laughed again as it all suddenly made sense. Clay was quite the troublemaker sometimes, even if he didn't mean to be.  
"Why do you let things he says get to you? You know he says things just to screw with you."

"I know it. But hey, it's not like you don't let Reese do the same thing." Paige said as she pointed her finger at Emily. Reese and Clay were very much alike and more times then she'd like to admit Emily had taken her friends words to heart when she shouldn't have.

"You're right. I have let her sway me the wrong way more than once." Emily agreed with a small nod.

"Exactly."

"So what did Clay say to you that has you questioning our sex life?" Emily asked with more interest than she wished.

"I don't know. He was talking about his flings and whatever and then it suddenly got turned onto me and I mentioned that I've never actually had one because I've always been with you."

"Mm-hmm." Emily couldn't help but smile at that fact, which didn't go unnoticed by Paige.

"Yeah, and he basically went into cardiac arrest over the idea of only being with one person your whole life. And…I don't know." Paige finished with a shrug, her eyes falling to Emily's chest where her necklace was lying snuggly between her breasts.

"Does that bother you?"

"What?" Paige questioned but Emily didn't have to repeat herself before Paige understood.

"Oh, no! No, no. That's not what I was trying to say at all. I love that you're the only person I've ever been with. You're the only one I ever want to be with, and god every single time I see you naked I feel like I'm a seventeen all over again but I guess…I don't know I just want to be sure you still feel the same way, too. That you're not bored with me or anything. I mean you've had more experience than I have so-"

"Barely." Emily cut her off with a snort.

"I'm just saying that you've been with more people."

"No, I haven't been with people. I've been with one other person besides you. One person, one time and that was it and it was my first time so it wasn't even that great. I mean it was in it's own way because it was my first time, but it has never compared to any of the thousands of times I've been with you."

"You think we've done it that many times?" Paige asked seriously, earning a laugh from Emily who shook her head and slapped the side of Paige's shoulder playfully.

"Is that all you got from that?"

"I'm just asking."

"I don't know how many times we've done it but I'm sure it's up there, especially during our college days."

"Oh, yeah. Those were good days." Paige smiled as she thought back to the times they would manage to sneak in a quickie before classed or Paige's practices. The perks of sharing an apartment together were never ending somedays.

"Okay, come back." Emily laughed, snapping her fingers a few times to get Paige's attention.

"Sorry."

"Look, I don't know what exactly Clay was trying to do or say but I promise you that if I was unhappy in any sort of way you would know. If I wanted something else or something different you would know." Emily said in all seriousness as she reached up and cupped Paige's cheeks with both of her hands.

"And I am absolutely nowhere near being bored or done with you, McCullers."

"Me neither." Paige replied quietly, turning her head slightly to kiss Emily's palm.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Just stop listening to your stupid friend."

"Will do."

"Good. Now are we just going to keep talking about having sex, or actually have sex?"

Dropping her head onto Emily's shoulder, Paige laughed and kissed the spot just below Emily's ear before she lifted her head back up and looked back down at her wife.

"Well when you put it like that…"

* * *

Emily smiled against Paige's lips as she inched closer to her until their lips fully connected once again.

Tiptoeing back down the hallway Emily blew out a small breath as she reached the living room. Opening her mouth to speak, she stopped short when she didn't see her wife on the couch any longer.

"Paige?" Emily called out in a raised whisper.

When Emily had gone to use the bathroom and check on Addie five minutes ago Paige had been lying awake on the couch where they had fallen asleep hours before. It was now nearing six in the morning and Emily was ready to get her wife and head to bed but Paige seemed to have other plans.

"In here."

Looking towards the blanket fort, Emily frowned slightly before she stepped towards the mound of blankets.

"You're in there?"

"Yeah. Come in."

Laughing quietly to herself, Emily got down onto the floor and crawled into the opening of the tent, finding her wife covered up in the middle of the tent with a smile on her face.

"What are you doing?"

"I don't know. Just thinking." Paige shrugged, patting the empty spot beside her for Emily to join. Following the request, Emily scooted herself over until she was lying down next to her wife, who covered her up with the couple of blankets that she had.

Curling her body into Paige's, Emily smiled at her as she watched Paige's eyes stare up at the twinkling lights above them.

"I realized something today. Or yesterday, I guess." Paige said suddenly, her eyes remaining on the lights for a few seconds longer before they turned and looked at Emily.

"What's that?" Emily asked with a smile as she reached out and traced her finger along the length of Paige's cheek and chin.

"We've been together for twelve years. Did you know that?"

Emily simply smiled at Paige's words, her eyes squinting for a moment as she nodded her head.

"Actually it's been twelve years…two months and…nine days." Emily finished off, a smile on her face as she did and Paige looked at her with a surprised grin.

"Wow." Paige said, her eyes sparkling as she looked at her wife. "That's a long time."

"Yeah. It is." Emily agreed. Sometimes it truly did just boggle her mind how far they had come together. How much they had been able to get through and accomplish throughout the years all the while maintaining and maturing their relationship to where they were now.

They weren't the only ones that had made it this far though. Hanna and Caleb were still going strong as well. They had gotten married two years before and were expecting their first child at the start of the new year which was just four short months away. Spencer and Toby were also together but hadn't made their way down the aisle or had any children yet. Emily knew that Spencer wanted those things but the timing would have to be just right for her, and with her career in full swing she just wasn't ready.

Aria and Fitz were the only ones currently not together, but Emily and Paige suspected it wouldn't be long before they were back on again. The years had been a little rough on them with the distance and different paths in their lives conflicting the one they were trying to build together, but Emily knew that eventually they would work it out and be alright.

"Doesn't seem that long on one hand but on the other…it feels way longer."

"You know I think these days twelve years is as good as fifty."

"That's true. I think we'll blow right past that number too."

"Absolutely." Emily agreed with a smile as she buried her face into Paige chest. Emily wasn't sure of too many things in her life, not all the time anyways, but the one thing she did know was that Paige was the one for her. Since she was seventeen Paige had been the one and twelve years later she only felt more confident in that notion and in their relationship.

"It's been a hell of a ride though, huh?" Emily asked, to which Paige chuckled and nodded her head.

"The best." Smiling, Paige reached her hand over and rested it on Emily's cheek, leaning over to kiss her lips. "I love you."

"I love you."

Kissing Emily's lips again and once more after, Paige slid her hand down from her cheek past her neck before resting on her hip.

"So I've been thinking."

"About?" Emily asked curiously, her fingers playing absentmindedly with the necklace hanging from Paige's neck.

"Well, we're going to be putting Addie in school next year, or at least half of the time she;ll be in pre-k."

"Right." Emily nodded as she listened along to her wife.

"You know there's not really any great schools around here. I mean, the few that are in this area aren't bad, but they're not great either."

"Okay. So what are you getting at?"

"Well I was looking around online and I went through our statements and did a little math and I was thinking that maybe it's time we start looking for a house."

Paige watched Emily nod as she let the information sink into her brain a little bit. They had discussed buying a house before Addie was born, but the truth was they really couldn't afford it at the time and they didn't really need the extra space at the time either.

"I mean, I know we not exactly cramped for space but someday in the future we might be and it would be nice for Addie to have a real backyard and maybe we'll get lucky and have neighbors who have little kids and she can make some friends."

"Uh, back up there."

"What?" Paige asked, confused by the grin on Emily's face.

"Someday we might be cramped for space?" Emily repeated Paige's words with a smirk.  
"And why would that be?"

"Uh…well." Paige shrugged, trying to hide her grin as she did. "I don't know. I mean I know we haven't talked about it but…"

"You want another baby?"

"Well, maybe. Not right now but maybe someday. I mean don't get me wrong I love Addie. She's my whole heart, you know that, but I don't know. I've always wanted a bigger family. I was an only child."

"So am I."

"Exactly. So…maybe Addie shouldn't be."

"Wow. Throwing me for a loop here, McCullers." Emily chuckled as she blew out a breath.

"I'm not saying we have to, I'm just saying that if in the future we ever did decide to we would at least have the room. If not, then we have room for guests."

"Hm. More babies." Emily looked back over at her wife with a smile. The truth was, Emily did want to have more children, which was something she never thought she would be up for. Being nearly thirty and married with a child wasn't the future she saw for herself, but it was true. It was all real and happening.

"Whoa. Babies? Like more than one more?" Paige questioned, her eyes as big as saucers which made Emily toss her head back with a laugh.

"Hey, you never know." Emily grinned wickedly.

"Slow down, McCullers. You're getting just a little bit ahead of yourself."

Emily smiled at the name use directed at her. It always made her smile, even after three years, when she heard someone say her last name or when she saw it on the mail or had to write it down it just made her heart feel full.

"You brought it up, McCullers." Emily shot back. "Okay, one thing at a time though. So you said you've been looking online."

"Yeah, just at some houses for sale around here and some in a better school district. I'm not saying we should move tomorrow but maybe we should start thinking about looking further into within the next year. If we start putting some money aside here and there it wouldn't take us long to have a down payment."

By no means were Emily and Paige 'rich' or 'rolling in it' but they did well enough for themselves that they didn't have to worry about their bills being paid and if they put money aside, they could easily save it up considering they weren't big spenders. They went on vacations here and there but they weren't extravagant people by any means. They had one vehicle that Emily drove more than either of them since most days Paige would either ride her bike or walk to work. Plus they had lived in the same apartment for over six years and when they had gotten it neither of them had the paying jobs they do now so they were easily able to afford it.

"Okay. We can do that. It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to just look around and see what our options are."

"Right. That's what I was thinking." Paige agreed, blowing out a short breath as she looked up at the ceiling.

"I will miss the hell out of this place though."

"I know. It wasn't out first place together but it was for sure our first real home. I'll be sad to leave it."

"We could always try and keep it." Paige suggested with a one armed shrug

"Really? You think we could?"

"Maybe. I don't know for sure but if we do find a house we could see if we could keep this place on a month to month basis instead of yearly. It could be like our like secret getaway." Paige smiled, wiggling her eyebrows at Emily who smiled in response.

"Oh."Emily grinned widely, nodding her head as she thought about it. She remembered plenty of times where she and Paige had snuck out of their jobs during lunch to meet up at home together. They still would try once and while if one of their parents were watching Addie. "Have our own little rendezvous, you mean?"

"Possibly."

"Hm." Emily smiled at the thought, her eyes rolling up to look at the twinkling lights above them. "You've got some good ideas lately."

"I try. I know it's a lot to think about, and like I said obviously we can't do this tomorrow but I was just thinking about it."

"No, I know. I agree though, we should probably start looking into it more. It would be better for Addie and for us."

"Okay. I'll keep looking around then and we'll just take it a step at a time."

Nodding her head quietly, Emily smiled to herself as she turned her head and looked over at Paige who was staring back at her, a frown coming onto her face when she saw Emily start to laugh.

"What? What's so funny?" Paige asked with a grin of her own rising onto her lips.

"Nothing. It's just here we are having these huge life changing conversations…in a blanket fort."

Looking around the tent suddenly, Paige started to laugh as well as she finally realized what Emily was talking about. The two of them laughed together, Paige rolling onto her side and wrapping her arm around Emily's body as her laughter started to die down.

"I love us."

"Yeah, we're definitely a one of a kind."

"You ready to go to bed?" Paige asked, starting to feel more tired herself and she knew by the look on Emily's face that she was as well.

Nodding her head silently, Emily let Paige lead the way out of the fort and help her up to her feet once she had got out. Pressing a kiss to the top of Emily's head, Paige wrapped her arm around her wife's shoulder as they walked down the hallway to their bedroom.

It wasn't long, or at least it didn't feel very long, before Paige felt herself being woken up by something…poking her foot? What? Grumbling into her pillow briefly, Paige lifted her head off of the warm and fluffy cushion and saw a tiny ball of bedhead staring back at her over the edge of the bed.

"Mommy? You sleeping?"

"Yes." Paige answered with a smile, her voice much more gruff after just waking up. Emily was slowly starting to wake up next to her as well now, her own bedhead making Addie's look amateur indeed.

Sitting up fully on the mattress Paige looked over the edge of the bed at her daughter and smiled when she saw her standing on her tip toes to try and see her parents on the bed.

"Come here, you."

Paige reached down and grasped Addie under her arms, picking her up and lying her down in the middle between herself and Emily.

"Mama." Addie smiled at the sight of her mama, snuggling down into the blankets next to her.

"Good morning, beautiful." Emily spoke for the first time before kissing Addie's cheeks a few times.

Peeking over the clock, Paige was surprised to see that it was nearly nine in the morning. That was late for them to still be in bed, but then she remembered that that was indeed the plan for the day, so she didn't waste much time caring about it.

"Did you just get up, Ad?" Emily questioned her daughter as she covered her up with the blankets.

"Yeah, There was a birdie on the window.'

"A birdie woke you up, huh?" Paige asked as she laid her body back down onto the mattress and wrapped her arm around both Addie and Emily.

"Uh-huh." Addie nodded as she looked up at her mommy with a big grin that Paige returned.

"Plus my tummy wanted something."

"Your tummy wanted something?" Emily chuckled as she watched Addie nod her head several times.

"I think my tummy wants something too." Emily said as she suddenly felt herself starting to feel more empty than usual. "What should we make?"

"Uhhh…pancakes!"

"What kind of pancakes?" Emily egged her on, smiling the entire time as Addie's eyes lit up at as she came up with the breakfast menu.

"Chocolate chip and berry!"

"Chocolate and blueberry?" Paige asked with a slight frown, to which Emily shrugged in response.

"Yeah! And eggs with cheese in them!"

"Okay. Pancakes and cheesy eggs it is." Emily nodded ass he patted Addie's tummy lightly. "You wanna help me make the batter?"

"Yeah!" Addie said excitedly as she tried to quickly shuffle out of the blankets and onto her feet before letting her mama help her off the bed.

"I'll make the eggs." Paige said as she started to remove herself from the bed as well.

"Maybe mama should make eggs."

"Why? I know how to make them too." Paige said, frowning as she sat on the edge of the bed watching Addie looked between her and Emily.

"You burn the cheese."

Emily laughed accidentally at her daughter's words, remembering last night how Addie had given Paige up for burning the cheese on their burgers. Covering her mouth with her hand, Emily saw the aghast look on her wife's face as the two of them stood pretending not to laugh in their spots.

"Oh. Oh, you guys think that's funny huh? A person burns cheese one time and now it's a bug joke huh?" Paige smiled at the both of them as she got up from the bed slowly, reaching for her water bottle on the side table before popping the squirt top on it.

"I'll give you something to laugh about."

"Run!" Emily yelled just as Paige got off the first shot of water at them, both of them laughing as they ran off down the hallway.

"Yeah, you better run girls!" Paige called as she ran out after them.

Paige easily found them both hiding in the blanket fort, shooting off streams of water at each of them and laughing as they tried to squirm their ways away from it. Paige ended up being tackled to the ground by both of them, all three of them laughing and rolling around together in the middle of the blanket fort. They messed around for a while longer before making breakfast all together, where Paige made the perfect batch of cheesy eggs to go along with the best chocolate chip and blueberry pancakes.

By the time they were done the kitchen was a mess, the floor was covered in a little bit of everything but none of them cared. They ate together in the blanket fort, eventually being joined by Finn when he smelled the aroma of food. One their plates were cleaned and their stomachs were full, all four of them fell asleep inside the fort.

Paige woke up first a few hours later but she didn't move from her spot. She laid quietly beside her girls, Addie in the middle of herself and Emily like she always liked to be, and she watched them sleep. She watched each of them as their chests rose and fell, a smile on her face that she couldn't contain.

"Bored." She laughed to herself quietly as she ran her hand across her daughter's forehead, wiping away a smudge of pancake batter at the same time before reaching over and wiping some off of Emily's nose as well.

"Never."


End file.
